Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Season 1
by gothicjedi666
Summary: I decided to cut this story into smaller chunks to make it easier for me to write it. Reading this story requires you to know what happened in season one of Voyager. Its not as interesting or as long as some of my stories, but Voyager season 1 was just so bad that this was all I could do with it.
1. Chapter 1

Author Notes

I couldn't find a Voyager Jump Chain so I decided to use the set-up for the Star Trek TOS, and to simply modify it for my own needs using bits of the TNG/DS9 Jump Chain. But don't worry too much about the figures, Jump Chain isn't about the points, its about the story telling. Also this story requires you to have a good understanding of Star Trek since I don't fancy explaining too much.

Character Sheet

Body Mods.

-Point Allocation (600 CP)

-Build: Average (600 CP)

-Body Type: Athlete (500 CP)

-Strength x1 (450 CP)

-Endurance x1 (400 CP)

-Speed x2 (400 CP)

-Dexterity x2 (400 CP)

-Appeal x1 (350 CP)

-Shape x1 (300 CP)

-Sense x1 (250 CP)

-Endowed x1 (200 CP)

-Metavore (100 CP)

-Ever-cleansed (0 CP)

-Flexibility x1 (0 CP)

Warehouse

-Point Allocation (150 CP)

-Electricity (140 CP)

-Plumbing (130 CP)

-Heat/A.C. (120 CP)

-Force Wall (100 CP)

-Shelving (100 CP)

-Terminal (90 CP)

-Robots (70 CP)

-Housing (50 CP)

-Medbay (30 CP)

-Portal (0 CP)

Companion Housing Complex

-Point Allocation (1000 CP)

-Electric (1000 CP)

-Plumbing (1000 CP)

-Heat/A.C. (1000 CP)

-Deluxe Bedroom (900 CP)

-Deluxe Bathroom (800 CP)

-Dining Hall (750 CP)

-Deluxe Kitchen (600 CP)

-Entertainment Center (500 CP)

-Library (300 CP)

-Garden (150 CP)

-Cleaning Closet (125 CP)

-Maintenance (125 CP)

-Medical Bay (125 CP)

-Rooms with a View (100 CP)

-Phone (50 CP)

-Theme (0 CP)

The Bay

\- Budget (20cp)

\- Maintenance Drones (16cp)

\- Fuelling Station (12cp)

\- Garage (11cp)

\- Machine Shop (10cp)

\- Automated Machine Shop (9cp)

\- Industrial Engineering Tools (6cp)

\- Matter Furnace (0cp)

Mass Effect Jump

\- Budget (1000cp)

\- Race: Human (1000cp)

\- Age 2d8 + 20 = 23 (1000cp)

\- Eden Prime (900cp)

\- Marine (800cp)

\- Sentinel Tech/Biotic

\- Finesse (500cp)

\- Supportive Mindset (350cp)

\- Not A Stupid Grunt (50cp)

\- Loadout (50cp)

\- Extra Credits (0cp)

\- Shepard's Flock (100cp)

\- Assistant VI (0cp)

Terminator Jump

Drop-In - You wake up in your chosen location with no overlapping memories to mess with your mind.

Smash Those Metal Motherfuckers - You have received several years worth of training on how to fight. Giving you basic proficiency with the all hand-held weaponry used in the 1980s to the 2000s. You won't necessarily know the entire ins and outs of the weapons, but you will know how to shoot them reliably. You also have a general idea of what kind of weaponry would be needed to deal with armoured targets.

Judgement Day - You automatically know the exact date and time to Judgement Day. Outside this jump, Judgement Day counts as any mass extinction or apocalyptic event for sapient species within 100 years and how, but not why, it happens. Because the future is not written, this perk will keep track of the event to the hour. So if the 2 year away apocalyptic event turned into 2 weeks and 3 hours, you will instantly know.

Most Paranoid Delusions Are Intricate - For the normal person it's hard to find out who's actually telling the truth and who needs a straight jacket. You, however, can spot these. Whether it's through experience or a gut instinct, you will know if an apparent conspiracy theorist/nut-job is actually telling a factual or rational account. Grows in power and accuracy in relation to the threat. If they're telling the truth about the end of all mankind, you will know 100%.

Thank You, Jumper, For Your Courage Through The Dark Years - Your skills in passing on knowledge and raising people are great. You could train and raise a child to be able to fight and survive during humanities darkest hour. Whether it is one-on-one or with groups, you can give them your knowledge and courage.

Hey, Wait! You Swore! - Whenever you make a deal with someone, whether it be through a legal document or a pinky promise, they will not break it. If you make a machine that was built purely for assassination swear to not kill any human, no human casualties will accrue because of it. This doesn't give you a blanket cover. Said machine from earlier will still maim people and break ankles, but they will live. A person with an incredible amount of willpower can resist this perk. But no matter what, they will still feel really hesitant to and guilty if they do.

No Fate But What We Make - You are not bound by fate nor is anyone you work with. Your destiny is only what you make of it. No magician or time-traveller can ever force you onto a different path against your will. This extends to the point that people and things that are deemed unstoppable or even unkillable, just because they are destined to, can be killed by you permanently. Finally, it protects you from time-travellers in general. For if someone wants to kill you. They have to kill you in the present. Travelling through time to kill your mother won't work.

One Possible Future. From Your Point Of View - Time travel is anything but simple. One trip can be complicated. 5 can be downright absurd. But not for you. Not only can you tell what the date it is at any time, but you have a mind that can organize and understand the convoluted nature of multiple timelines.

Items:

And Your Motorcycle - A 1990 fatboy with black paint with red pinstripe, leather seating, leather side bags, chrome covered piping, and a chrome covered engine. This particular one is strong enough to carry a person weighing upwards of 800lbs and can keep going after falling down over 20ft and not loose any speed. It also comes with an infinite fuel supply.

Star Trek: Voyager Jump

Budget - 1000cp

Stowaway - 1000cp

Human - 1000cp

Trader: Mercantile & Diplomacy - 900cp

Adaptable - 850cp

Tapestry of Life - 700cp

Romulan Ale - 700cp

Disruptor Rifle - 500cp

Life Support Belt - 200cp

Runabout (free trader) - 200cp

Companions - 0cp

Miranda 

Budget - 200cp

Stowaway - 200cp

Human - 200cp

Operations: Quartermaster - 200cp

Ship Shape - (free operations) - 200cp

Cloak for Runabout - 100cp

Tractor Beam - 0cp

Tali - 200cp

Budget - 200cp

Stowaway - 200cp

Human - 150cp

Operations: Engineering - 150cp

Ship Shape - (free operations) 150cp

Tr-116 Rifle - 0cp

 **Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Part 1**

 **Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of Reality.**

"Okay looks like we are ready to go" I said as I checked over again the set up for the next Jump "We've all got some sort of training so that we'll be useful on the ship, and a fancy new runabout encase we ever have to leave Voyager. And we can the end Jump early by helping Voyager get home. Otherwise its ten years in the Delta Quadrant".

Miranda checked things over. It was best to get a fresh pair of eyes to double check this before actually starting the Jump.

"Seems fine to me" she commented "We should be able to get stuff like tricorders and phasers from Voyager, so no sense buying them now".

That had been my thinking.

"Tali you're changing species" Miranda went on to say "Getting up fed with your suit?".

The quarian, who'd been scanning the still inactive Cameron Phillips model terminator, came over to us.

"That and I can finely get something good to eat" she said "It was okay living off food tubes for a while, but I'll go crazy if I have to spend years eating them, and Gothic says there are no dextrose-acid species in this Star Trek. Which means I need to switch to a body which uses amino-acid".

No dextrose-acid species that I could recall anyway. As for changing species Miranda and I both liked our current forms and thanks to our gene mods our life spans were long, so there was no need to change them. That would change one day as I was still ageing, and I still had many Jumps to live through.

Jump Chan had advised putting at least two magical words in my Jump Chain so that I'd have some magical skills when I became a full blown Oldwalker, and because I was going to need a break from all the sci fi adventure in any case.

I was considering heading to the Elder Scrolls world as that universe happened to be one of my favourites, and while it happened to be very dangerous world with our skills, training and technology we should be able to handle the place. There were other magical worlds too, I'd considered them all carefully before finally making my choice.

"And Voyager has some very advanced technology" Tali added.

She was looking forward to it I could tell, it had been her choice to go to Voyager, and since Miranda had chosen Terminator I couldn't rightfully refuse her wanting to see Star Trek.

I was not as thrilled as her since having seen the show I knew that most of the crew were foolish, not stupid exactly, but they lacked wisdom, forsight, and sometimes they didn't even display an iota of common sense. Granted many other people were like this, but Starfleet were meant to be the best and brightest of the Federation.

On the plus side with my perks, and their lack of sense, I should easily be able to get myself into a command position even without ever putting on one of their uniforms.

"Okay so the Jump is set up" I said "Let's just double check our equipment in case we end up somewhere hostile, and then we should be ready to go".

(Line Break)

 **Ready Room. Voyager.**

"You asked to see me Captain" I said just after I had entered Janeway's ready room.

The ship's most senior officer invited me to sit, and I did so. She stayed behind her desk.

"Mr. Gothic we have an issue we need to discuss. I've extended an invitation to Chakotay and the other Maquis to integrate into Voyager's crew. Chakotay will be my First Officer, and Tom Paris will be at the helm. That leaves our new friends and you stowaways".

Janeway didn't use 'stowaways' negatively, and it was the best term for us since we'd just appeared in the ship with no record of how we'd gotten on board.

"We'll find posts for Kes and Nellix soon enough I'm sure" the captain was now saying "I'm more interested in what to do with you and your companions who are this Jump Chain".

Unlike the last two jumps, this time I'd seen no reason to hide the truth from anyone, and such I'd shared knowledge of the Jumps with the crew of Voyager. They were cut off from the Federation and as such had no one to report to about Jump Chain. So I didn't have to worry about Section 31 coming after me, or about one of the major Alpha Quadrant powers trying to exploit me. Plus this crew needed all the help they could get.

Besides Starfleet had dealt with so called all powerful beings before so the'd find it easier to understand Jump Chain. They also knew the dangers of annoying such mighty creatures so it was unlikley that Janeway would throw us off the ship and upset Jump Chan's entertainment, unless I did something really bad.

"Well I am an experienced Alliance Officer" I told the Captain "I've not only served on ships before. I've been on many away missions. I even became a Council Spectre, which makes me something between secert agent, and a one man special forces team".

Janeway gestured to a PADD.

"Miss Lawson already put together a briefing for me which includes your past experiences and skills" I was informed.

Miranda was very good with that sort of thing. I wasn't at all surprised that she was already hard at work despite the fact that we'd appeared on Voyager only hours ago, just after the Caretaker Array had been destroyed.

"Miss Tali'Zorah we can add to our engineering staff" Janeway said "Given her experience and the knowledge this Jump Chain has given her she's more than qualified for such a post, however she'll have to be brought in a civilian consultant given that she's from a species not known to the Federation".

No surprise there. Tali could take human form, but she'd arrived here as a quarian so everyone knew she was an alien. As for the civilian consultant matter, I assumed that was what Neelix and Kes were considered to be.

"From what I've been able to find out about you, both yourself and Miranda Lawson are what we would call augments, humans who have been geneticly engineered" Janeway was now saying "Which means I can't offer you a commission in Starfleet despite the fact that you're both human, however I did a little reading myself and found that in the past Jonathan Archer, when on a mission that took him into a par of the galaxy that was back then unknown and dangerous space, took on board a team of Makos, a special forces group, back when Earth had a need for them. Given that you are a solider, and that we are in hostile terrorty I'd like yourself, Miranda Lawson and the artificial life-form known as Cameron to take up a similar role".

For defeating Skynet and ending my last jump early I'd been gifted with a Terminator the same model as Cameron Phillips in T:SCC. She wasn't the exact same person, but she was close enough. And having my own Terminator would prove to be loads of fun I was sure.

"Your duites would involve protecting away teams into dangerous areas, or providing back up to teams in distress. When it comes to matters like dealing with intruders I'll leave the details to Lieutenant Tuvok, whose command you'll team will be under. I realise that you out rank him, but he is the ship's chief of security, so it matters of security he's the boss. Other than that your rank will hold, and you'll command your own team. You'll be given quarters like the rest of the crew, hopefully you won't mind sharing".

Janeway took a moment to drink some coffee.

"Does that work for you Lieutenant-Commander?" she asked.

Well it would give me something to do. And as a member of away teams I'd have chances to loot some cool tech.

"That works for me Captain" I replied.

There was still more to discuss.

"Miss Lawson also put together an inventory of what you have inside your Cosmic Warehouse, which I understand is some sort of extra dimensional space, most of your technology is either of no use to us or requires element zero, which doesn't exist in this universe as far as we know, and I doubt it can be replicated given its unusual atomic structure, although I would like to learn more about quantum entanglement. Should we ever find a way to get a message back home, it might work for long distance communications. Shame the same can't be said for mass relays".

Alas the Mass Relays had to be linked so even if Voyager could build one, which was currently impossible since there was no element zero is this reality, there was no rely in the Alpha Quadrant to link to, plus they didn't have the range to reach the other side of the galaxy in any case. Perhaps one day the Federation would work out away to mimic a mass effect core, and even build Mass Relays, but I wouldn't be around to see that.

"As for the rest of your technology" the captain added "There might be some value in an exchange. You're welcome to study our technology in return. You also have some supplies such as clothing and rations that we hopefully won't need, but they'll be nice to have just in case".

This meeting seemed to be coming to an end.

"Report to Lieutenant Tuvok" Janeway ordered "He'll help you set up your team, any requests for resouces should go through him".

I saluted and headed out.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. Voyager.**

Later in the day I was on the bridge of this ship listening to Janeway give her speech.

"We will continue to follow our directive; to seek out new worlds and explore space. But our primary goal is clear…even at maximum speeds it would take seventy-five years to reach the Federation. But I'm definitely not willing to settle for that. I learned from the Caretaker that there is another member of his species out there who may have the ability to send us home much faster. We'll be searching for her along the way".

The Caretaker had been powerful entity, who'd been a member of an extra-galactic race of explorers. The others of the Caretaker's species had moved on after damaging the Ocampa's planet while the Caretaker and the other female the captain had just mentioned were left behind to care for the Ocampa. But the female had moved on to explore some time ago.

Because the Caretaker had known he was dying he'd pulled in dozens of ships from multiple species to see if he could procreate with any of the alien life forms, having lost contact with the female member of his own race. The Caretaker had believed that only his offspring could see to the Ocampa's safety. Which sounded nuts given how down right alien the Caretaker had been, but it was possible he'd been senile in some sense, or simply extremely desperate.

As expeced Kes and Neelix would be staying on board Voyager to act as consultants. I was sure that the Captain doubted that Neelix's contacts were as widespread as the boastful alien claimed but that didn't mean that some of the whiskered alien's experiences wouldn't come in handy. As for Kes, she was just too cute to throw off the ship.

My group would be doing as the Captain wished. Tali would be down in the engine room while the rest of us would act as an extra security force as well as trying to find ways to help Voyager with Mass Effect technology. Given the skills Miranda had selected I suspected that she'd ended up helping to organise things behind the scenes, but Voyager wasn't worrying about supplies just yet.

"We'll also search for wormholes, spatial rifts, and new technologies to speed us up. We will find our way back," the Captain solemnly vowed.

She then turned to pilot

"Mr. Paris, set a course..for home" she said.

"Aye Captain," he agreed.

He then proceeded to send Voyager into high warp, the course already having been plotted.

(Line Break)

 **Mess Hall. Voyager.**

Walking inside I give the alien cook a small wave

"Morning Neelix. What's today's special?" I asked.

He grinned widely and started to scoop up something brown into a bowl

"Malaxian root stew with Kever meat. Very nutritious" he told me.

While nodding I took the bowl before giving it contents a small taste. Good stew, nice texture, not too runny, meaty flavour with some sort of root vegetable.

"Not bad." I commented.

Neelix looked at Cameron, who unless I ordered her not to, followed me around like a loyal puppy. She didn't speak much as she hadn't been programmed for social interactions. She was a perk of sorts, a bonus given to by Jump Chan for finishing a jump early. Must like the vehicle bay which had been added to my Cosmic Warehouse, only Cameron would become more like a person over time as she was an AI capable of adapting and learning. The only skills she did have were what she required to be my bodyguard, and lover, at least in theory. I'd not tested her abilities in either of those areas as of yet.

"Isn't your friend hungry?" Neelix asked.

That would be biologically impossible.

"She doesn't have a stomach" I answered for her.

I quickly grabbed a chunk of bread and walked over to sit at a corner table. Honestly, from the show I thought I would hate his guts for being so annoying, but Neelix was an actually an okay guy, at least so far. He really just wanted to help. And his cooking wasn't so bad. The Federation types were spoiled by replicators. For someone used to Alliance Navy cooking, the meals here were more edible.

As I glanced at the kitchen I saw that Neelix had indeed found a way to make himself useful. I really should do something like what he was doing. Not cooking of course, but just babysitting the odd away team wouldn't take up much of my time.

Perhaps I could teach self defence classes. Not just hand to hand combat, but also shooting, knife fighting as well as tactical exercises. Even only a few of the Maquis showed any interest, it would at least give me something to do.

Mostly I planned to find ways to mix Mass Effect and Starfleet technology. I also hoped to obtain more tech and even abilities while on this jump. But that might take a while as of yet I was still settling in. Once I had I'd then starting seeing about how I could aid Voyager.

(Line Break)

 **Briefing Room. Voyager.**

I handed over the data padd to the captain.

"Miranda put together a report on all the features of my Cosmic Warehouse along with some suggestions for improvements" I informed Janeway "She also included a report on the vehicle bay upgrades".

She quickly looked it over.

"This matter furnace could come in handy if we can feed it space debris and get useful materials from it, and you have your own cloaked runabout. I see some scouting missions in your future".

She then read some more.

"I see no harm in handing over a replicator" she now was saying "If your extra dimensional space can power it without draining the ship resources it could come be handy".

Soon Janeway's attention was else where. There were many matters to discuss and Janeway had a whole ship to look after. My group could mostly support itself so we weren't much of a concern right now.

"Engine efficiency has dropped another fourteen percent," Harry Kim reported to the group of officers.

From what Tali, who was working down in engineering, had told me, the ship's warp drive wasn't meant to be used for days on end without stops being made. As such parts wore out more quickly and the ship used more power. Voyager could go much faster than it currently was, but it wasn't meant to sustain those speeds for days. As such the ship was going at Warp Five, and we might end up going slower.

"What about alternative energy sources," Janeway inquired. "Ensign, how has it been going trying to draw power from the holodeck reactors?".

Not well judging by the look on the young man's face.

"We have tried connecting the generators to the main power grid but that nearly overloaded half the relays. The holodeck energy matrix just isn't compatible with the other power systems," Kim explained.

"Captain if we move all security personnel to deck seven then deck nine can be powered down, freeing up energy for propulsion," Chakotay suggested.

Voyager simply couldn't end up with an average speed of warp 3, it wasn't going to do if this crew wanted to get back to Earth within the next thousand years. Heck even at Warp Five Voyager would most likley end up being operated by the great- grandchildren of the current crew.

"That would be inconvenient but most acceptable," the Chief of Security agreed.

I could see that Tuvok's Vulcan pragmatism could be useful in times like these.

"Fine," Janeway agreed. "But now let's move onto the personnel issues"

Just as the meeting was about to continue Kes and Neelix came rushing in.

"Sorry we're late but we weren't informed there was a meeting being held," Neelix announced to the room.

That was because they hadn't been invited. The only reason I was here was due my officer rank and the fact that I led my own team. Janeway wasn't foolish enough to not to make use of me and my people as a resource. As an outsider my viewpoints would be different than everyone else's and I had been a Council Spectre, sure that authority didn't extend to this universe, but it still spoke well of my skills.

"There don't seem to be enough chairs," he added while looking around the table.

You'd think that would be a hint.

"Neelix this is a meeting for the senior officers," Janeway tried explaining.

"Well I'm the senior Telaxian on-board. Kes is the senior Ocampa," the whiskered alien pointed out. "And I do know more about this region of space than any other member of the crew".

Which might be vaild if they weren't the only members of their races on the ship.

"We have some excellent suggestions Captain," Kes added softly.

I'd not noticed it in the show, but was Kes actually rather cute in a sort of adorable elf kind of way. If she were shorter you'd think she came right out of Santa's workshop.

"Very well, you are welcome to join the briefing, this time," Janeway agreed.

"You can take my seat, Kes" I informed the space elf.

I was used to standing during briefings anyway. The second Normandy had been designed with civilian comfort in mind, since it wasn't a military ship, but if Voyager was a good example, then Starfleet invested far too much time and energy into the crew's comfort when building their ships.

"Would it be possible to convert one of your lower decks into a hydroponics bay in order to grow your own food?" Kes inquired. "That would help alleviate the problem of the replicators being down and the dwindling supply of emergency rations".

"Cargo bay two would work for that. That cargo bay was meant for organic storage and it possesses adjustable environmental controls," Harry Kim said helpfully.

"When can you start Kes?" Janeway asked "It was your idea and I can think of no one better".

I had stocked my warehouse with plenty of ration packs from the Mass Effect verse, but they wouldn't feed the crew of a whole star ship for very long. We'd need more sources of food and there was only so much power for the replicators.

"Right away Captain," Kes agreed with a small smile.

"I can do some wonderful things with vegetables Captain," Neelix declared. "My feragoid goolash is known across twelve star systems".

'As a deadly bio-weapon' was what I wanted to say outloud. But this wasn't the time for jokes.

"Now to the personnel issue," an amused looking Kathryn Janeway said, in order to get the group back on track. "We've managed to find a replacement Transporter Chief. We still need a Navigator, a Chief Engineer, Medical Support Personnel and there a few other posts that aren't as vitial but could with filling".

Voyager thankfully lacked a therapist that could sense your feelings. Apparently Starfleet hadn't consider such a post to be important on a ship of this size.

"I've made a list of several Maquis crew members who would make good senior officers," Chakotay announced.

He then passed Janeway a data padd.

"B'Elanna Torres," Janeway said, sounding surprised "She was the one involved in that incident with Mr. Carey".

I assumed it involve her punching him. I wanted to punch a lot of people who were in Starfleet. A few of them seemed like real smug cunts.

"That's right," Chakotay confirmed "I think she'd make a fine Chief Engineer"

At that moment the entire ship shook hard as if it had run into a wall of some sort. Alarms blared as the Captain ordered the officers to their stations. I had no station I decided to go back to my quarters. Someone would call me if they required a bad ass solider with biotic powers, and they would.

(Line Break)

 **Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of Reality.**

"Is this all your quarters?" Kes asked.

I'd invited Kes to my room because I had access to information on hydroponics and I also had seeds that she could use. I'd prepared for this jump as best I could while still in the Terminator verse, and while there hadn't been that much worth bringing with me I thought to bring some stuff.

Once she was inside my quarters I'd used the door to the bedroom, which I'd added a lock too, as a means of accessing the Cosmic Warehouse. Kes had followed, and naturally she was impressed by what she saw.

"No this is my warehouse" I told the alien woman "My girls and I are doing a Jump Chain, which is hard to explain, but all you need to know right now is that I have a huge storage space as well as my own equipment and even a few vehicles".

I headed over the shelves which contain the stuff I'd gathered from an alternate version of my home world, and grabbed the box which contained many packets of seeds. Then I went over to the data discs, which were filled with info from the Mass Effect verse, and found the right one.

"Just give me a few seconds and I'll copy this on to your padd" I said to Kes as I exchanged her padd for the box of seeds.

Copying the information didn't take long as I had a small computer nearby for just this purpose. I'd gathered vast amounts of knowledge since I'd started my jump, and I intended to use the information as something to exchange, but I didn't mind sharing. If nothing else it would get me in Kes's good graces, and that might pay off later should I ever need something from here.

"What else do you have in here?" she wondered.

Despite having horded a lot of stuff the warehouse wasn't remotely full.

"Weapons, tools, armour, a wide variety of data discs all full of information" I answered "Some food, some clothing, a couple of shuttles, a tank, a motorbike, plus some other stuff I thought might come in handy. It would take a while to explain it all".

The alien girl smiled at me.

"I have time" said Kes.

Well I didn't have anything better to do, at least not right now.

"Okay I'll give you the tour" I told the space elf.


	2. Chapter 2

**Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Part 2**

 **Security Office. USS Voyager.**

While this class of Starfleet ship was larger than either of the Normandy's it was no Galaxy Class starship, yet it had a surprising amount of internal space. So much so that Tuvok had his own office, it was attached to his quarters and while I wasn't able to get a good read of what he was doing, since I wasn't familiar with Voyager's operating system, I could well imagine that as chief of security and tactical officer that he had access to any information that dealt with the safety of this ship as well as it crews.

"Lieutenant Tuvok" I greeted.

I gave the man a salute. Starfleet officers didn't salute but this didn't stop Tuvok from returning the gesture.

"Lieutenant-Commander Gothic" he replied "I wish to discuss several matters with you".

He didn't offer me a seat and he remained standing.

"I have been reviewing your service record" the Vulcan was now saying "By Starfleet standards your methods are effective if some what morally questionable, yet your accomplishments speak for themselves. However while you are an ally rather than a Starfleet Officer, you still a member of the crew, as such there are certain guidelines I wish you to follow".

Starfleet wasn't as militarised as the Alliance Navy, they were scientists not soldiers. Which was fine when you were on a ship of exploration, but Starfleet was also the organisation charged with defence of the Federation which made it foolish to only fill it ranks with science types.

"While I do not expect you to perform to the standards of a graduate of Starfleet academy you will need to modify your actions somewhat" Tuvok said as he passed me a datapad.

I reviewed the information. Most of it was to expected. I was to use a weapon with a stun setting encase I was ordered not to harm anyone. There were a few other minor things, like rules governing behaviour on shore leave, how to act during contact missions and so on. Nothing a Spectre would have trouble handling.

"Wait no looting?" I asked.

"In your record there are many mission when you looted weapons and technology" he said "While this was acceptable to the Alliance we have different standards".

This wouldn't do at all.

"I only took technology from hostile forces, which we used it to come up with defences and to find ways improve our own weapons, which made a big difference when fighting the Reapers, and their minions" I told the Vulcan "If it worries you I swear I would never steal from allies or even from neutral parties, and given that your cut off from the Federation you might need to salvage technology from wreaked ships and such. I know it can seem gruesome, but a little looting will be necessary if you want to survive out here".

Tuvok gave this matter some thought.

"Very well I will amend the instructions to allow for the recovery of useful technology from hostile parties as long as doing so does not endanger an away team or risk the well being of the ship" Tuvok decided "However any large scale looting will require the captains approval".

That seemed fair.

"Upon reviewing your records and the information yoy have shared with us about this Jump Chan I agree with the captain" Tuvok was now saying "Your skills would be best utilised as the leader of a small team whose duty it will be do deal with situations an away team can not. Aside from this you will provide protection for away teams. Also I plan to utilise your team to deal with intruders if my security force can not handle them. I will not assign duty shifts or extra duties to you or your team, as long as you find ways to aid the crew in its mission".

I assumed he was thinking that I would just lend a hand where and when I could, like Neelix and Kes were doing. Tali was already at work, and I was sure Miranda would find some niche for herself somewhere on the ship. Heck I wouldn't be surprised to find her in a new office by the end of the week.

"Well I have some ideas on combining Mass Effect technology with Federation tech" I told Tuvok "and I can share a lot of information about the Mass Effect universe with you".

Tuvok didn't seem to care about that.

"Very well" he said "Now unless you have another matter you wish to discuss, this meeting is over".

Well at least he wasn't wasting my time.

(Line Break)

 **The Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of Reality.**

While scanning my own personal version of Cameron the Terminator I started to make some notes on my omni-tool. For now I was just putting together a general overview of the Cameron and the technology behind her. Later on I would make a more in depth study.

-Blue flash/Red eyes  
-Sustenance consumption  
-Unsurpassed human mimicry  
-Possible self awareness

"So how else are you superior to earlier models?" I asked the robot.

"I have full colour HUD" Cameron told me.

She was fully aware of what I was doing and didn't seem to mind. Also for some reason she'd decided to strip down to her underwear before sitting on the work bench that was within my machine shop.

I was going to use the space added to the warehouse as a workshop for more than messing about with vehicles and others bit of technology. With the resources of the latest add ons as well as a working replicator I could also create spare parts for Cameron.

Well mostly, I wouldn't be able to replicate the organic parts of Cameron, but the ship's EMH should be able to handle that if my Terminator got badly damaged.

Skynet developed the technology to grow living tissue over a Terminator, with the intent of allowing the machine to infiltrate the Resistance, as well as to generate the bio-electric field necessary to send Terminator units back in time. Also the living tissue was remarkable like that of a human's since Skynet made living tissue which could regenerate and it could even give the apperence of aging.

"Why are scanning me?" Cameron asked.

I had my reasons. Mostly I was motivated to expand my understanding of technology, and I planned to learn some magic as well in the future so that I could combine the two if possible. Also I liked making stuff, there was something very satisfying about building your own weapons.

"To learn more about you" I told the Terminator "I might need to repair you one day".

That was when my comm badge beeped at me, and I tapped it. I could receive signals while within the Cosmic Warehouse, which had always confused me since I was outside of the universe right now, but only if they were from sources nearby where ever the door leading to the warehouse was.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Yes you can" said the voice, which belonged the ship's EMH "Mr Gothic you are late for your physical".

I looked at Cameron.

"Guess you're not the only one getting scanned today" I muttered.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. Voyager.**

Upon naming the ship's EMH as chief medical officer, the hologram had decided to exericse his new found authority by ordering every crew member to undergo a full physical, and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

This wasn't just the EMH being annoying, although getting scanned by him did bother me, it was important because a fraction of the crew were maquis, and as such their medical files hadn't been sent to Voyager like for the Starfleet crew, and because a few of us weren't even from Federation space.

As such the Doctor needed to study our different biologies in order to understand how certain drugs would effect our biochemistry, as well the gather information he needed to predict any medical treatments we might need.

Since I was a cyborg, I had implants inside my body that allowed me to my biotic abilities, and because I was genetically engineered the Doctor needed to spend more time looking me over than he did other members of the crew. He wasn't familiar with Alliance genetic engineering or cybernetics. The Federation didn't seem to use much of either.

"Guess you'll be spending as much time scanning Miranda" I said conversationally.

The Doctor didn't look away from his tricorder.

"Your friend, Miss Lawson was here this morning" the hologram told me "She not only cooperated with her physical she also gave me access to the medical records from the last ship you both served on. I'm just updating them to Starfleet standards. Of course I only copied the records concerning yourself, Miss Lawson and Miss Zorah. Your bodyguard over there I can scan next. She's only organic on the outside as I understand, so any internal problems will mean you'll need to consult an engineer".

I was sure I could figure Cameron out. I'd studied robotics, and Cameron was 21st Century Earth tech so while she was complex she's wasn't actually that advanced. I'd be willing to beat that before long I'd find ways to improve her. For starters she needed some kinetic barriers, I was sure that somewhere in my data discs I had some geth tech I could replicate and install in her. But that would be a long term project since I didn't understand geth tech as well as I did Prothean and Alliance technology.

"You can scan her once your finished with me" I told the hologram.

The Doctor then started scanning me with a new device.

"Miss Lawson also informed me that you'd be going on away missions" the hologram mentioned "I hope you at least have some first aid training".

All Alliance Marines knew first aid. It was part of basic training as well as a required course for officers at the academy.

"I do" I told the doctor "But I'm not familiar with your medical technology. Perhaps you'd consent to giving me and Miranda some basic training for first aid".

The Doctor seemed surprised to have heard that.

"It would make sense to have someone on the away teams who is able to administer basic treatments. the hologram said as his scans finally came to an end "I could easily teach you to deal with cuts, bruises and burns".

Assuming I didn't die I could be spending up to ten years on this ship so it seemed a good idea to find things to do. I'd have to keep myself busy or I could go crazy. Well crazier.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Voyager**

About a week after the ship had safely gone around a class 4 anomaly of some sort I was called up to bridge to find that Voyager had just arrived at a rogue planetoid which Neelix had assured the Captain was a rich source of dilithium. From what I'd heard from Tali, B'Elanna Torres, the ship's Chief Engineer, had already started work on a small refining facility. I didn't doubt for a moment that Tali would heavily involved in this project as for her people salvaging resources in any way they could meant life for those who lived in the Migrant Fleet.

As for Tali she'd actually been in the running for chief engineer, having done the job before, but Janeway had gone with Torres to appease the Maquis, and no one had liked the Starfleet officer who'd also been in running for the post. Personally I thought Torres was the better choice as it was possible that my group might leave Voyager and make our way in my runabout. This would result in us spending ten years in this part of the galaxy, but that would be far less painful than living under Janeway's command if she was like her character in the show.

"Are you picking up any dilithium," the Captain questioned Ensign Kim.

If I remembered correctly Kim was like the whipping boy of Voyager. Loads of bad things would happen to him, and he'd be unlucky in love. Perhaps I could help him out in some way. A matter to think on later.

"Yes Captain," Harry Kim reported "The strongest readings are originating from ten to twenty kilometers inside the planetoid, but there are plenty of smaller deposits that will be much easier for us to get at".

An image of the planetoid was displayed on the main view screen.

"I'm also picking up a cave network with an oxygen nitrogen atmosphere," B'Elanna announced

She was at the engineering position here on the bridge

"Just as I said," Neelix declared. "I bet there are a few Ulidian engineers who would give all three of their spinal columns to know where this planetoid is".

Ignoring Neelix the Captain turned to face Chakotay,

"Commander, take an away team into those caves for a preliminary analysis" she said before turning to the klingon/human hybrid "Lieutenant, you better get your dilithium refinery online as soon as you can".

The enginner didn't seem to be concrened.

"It will be finished in two days Captain," B'Elanna assured the ship's leader.

As Chakotay put together an away team I spoke to Janeway.

"If it can wait a bit I can get my stuff together so I can provide an escort" I said.

The captain smiled slightly.

"I don't think they'll need an escort this time, they'll just be looking at mineral deposits, but I want your team on standbys just in case" she decided.

With that I left the bridge.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. USS Voyager.**

Chakotay and Harry Kim looked greatly saddened while the Doctor pulled a sheet up over the third member of their away team.

"Nooo!" Kes screamed

She then rushed forward and pulled the sheet back so that she could look upon the motionless form of Neelix.

"I'm sorry Kes," Chakotay said

She didn't reply at first, she just sobbed and clutched at Neelix.

"What happened?" Kes then asked, after quite a few minutes of crying.

The two humans in the room exchanged looks before the older of the two started talking.

"Neelix wandered out of the search radius. He mentioned something about detecting a bio-electric signature near what was supposed to be a large deposit of dilithium. We couldn't actually find any dilithium even though our scans told us it was there. As we were preparing to beam back to the ship we heard Neelix cry out over his comm and got to him as quickly as possible," Chakotay explained.

"We found him on the ground convulsing," Ensign Kim added.

This was when the ship's EMH finished organising and anayslying the information he'd gotten from his earlier scans.

"Someone removed Mr. Neelix's lungs and heart through some kind of transportation device," the Doctor informed everyone "There was nothing I could do for him, other than to sedate Mr. Neelix so that he wouldn't suffer".

Voyager's second officer sighed.

"Given that we found no dilithium my guess is that the planetoid is probably a trap meant to lure beings in. The bio-electric signature Neelix detected must have been some organ harvester," the native american mused "I am going to go inform the Captain".

Ensign Kim decided not to join his senior officer. The EMH didn't have a bedside manner, at least not yet and this wasn't a good time to leave Kes alone.

"I'll stay here for a while" Harry told his superior officer.

The Commander nodded his agreement with that idea before leaving sickbay.

(Line Break)

 **Transporter Room. USS Voyager.**

"According to Neelix's tricorder readings there are only two of these unknown aliens within the caves" Chakotay informed me "However there might be more hiding down there".

I wasn't concerned. This wasn't my first away mission.

"Will you two be enough to deal with this... issue" Captain Janeway asked "I don't think you'll want any of your organs removed".

Cameron and I stepped on transporter padd.

"I don't have a heart" the Terminator said.

While I understood what she meant by that it still sounded rather creepy to me, and to the Federation types too judging by their reaction.

"Since she's a synthetic life form she has no internal organs for these aliens to steal" I explained.

Which would be handy since if I remembered correctly these organ stealing aliens used their only weapons to steal organs. And it was possible they could hit us with those weapon even though people in this galaxy had all the combat skills of cowboys when it came to using firearms.

"And I've been on more dangerous missions than I can remember" I told the senior officers "I've faced pirates, terroists, mercs, killer robots, rogue government agents, and aliens who make the Klingons look cuddly. I can handle some organ thieves. Besides judging by how quickly they harvested Neelix's organs and the false sensor readings down there my guess is that these aliens are ambush predators. And since they baited their trap with false readings of dilithium they're mostly likely use to dealing with miners not soldiers".

I then tapped my a control on belt and turned invisible, before reappearing a moment later.

"Personal cloaking device back engineered from geth technology" I informed the captain and the commander "I've also got combat sensors and more scanning devices built into my omni-tool. I'll find the bastard who killed Neelix".

Janeway had more to say, although it took a moment to say it since she'd been rather startled by my dispersing act.

"I want them alive Lieutenant-Commander" she ordered "I want to know why they killed Neelix, and how we can avoid something like this from ever happening again".

Hardly unexpected given that I was working for a Starfleet officer.

"Set weapons to stun" I ordered Cameron.

I vaguely remembered season one of Voyager, but I wasn't worried about aliens who stole organs, no I was far more worried about Species 8472 and the Borg, everyone else was just a warm up act.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. USS Voyager.**

Taking down the two aliens had been child's play when compared to some of the foes I'd faced. Civilizations in this galaxy might have warp drive, energy weapons, shields, and transporters, but they were so bad at ground combat. I'd gotten more of challenge from fighting drunken Blue Suns mercs.

One one two aliens, both of whom had tried to make a run for their ship, had died from being stunned. Still it had been a profitable trip, since Tuvok had allowed me loot from hostile, as long as it didn't interfere with my missions or endanger Voyager. As such I'd been able to get my hands on one of their weapons, although that term didn't do it justice. It was a sophisticated device that was a combination of a weapon, medical scanner, and surgical instrument.

The scanner would locate organs that were useful to the aliens and then transport such biological material out of the victim. I was also sure it could be used like a phaser to stun people, but I couldn't be sure. Given how complex the device was I might ever figure it out, and be able to replicate the device. However I was more concerned with coming up with a defence in case these aliens ever boarded the ship.

"This being suffers from a very lethal virus" the Doctor reported as he scanned the still living alien "Many of his body parts appear to be adapted from other species, I can only assume that this advanced medical technology that I am unfamiliar with".

Clearly very advanced given that the threat of tissue rejection was always a concern even when your donated organs were from a member of the same species as the person who needed the organ.

"This man possesses Mr. Neelix's stolen heart and lungs," the Doctor said, finishing his report

The alien I'd killed had died from a stun shot, which didn't normally happen, but the shock to the system must have been too much for such a badly damaged body to deal with.

"Judging from the fact that our transporter bio filters allowed these beings to be beamed to sick bay I am assuming we aren't particularly susceptible to the virus," Janeway said.

Despite this I was glad that both the living and dead alien were behind a force field that not even germs could escape.

"This species seems to be particularly vulnerable to the virus," replied the Doctor "There's no chance of this disease spreading to the crew, still I felt the force field was wise".

Janeway moved closer and looked over the still living but not awake alien. Cameron had take that xenoes down with ease. They'd ran from us the cowards.

"Wake him up so we can get some answers Doctor," the captain ordered.

A moment later via the use of a hypospray the prisoner was forced to become awake.

"You are on the Starship Voyager. I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the United Federation of Planets" the alien was told.

The xenos got over his shock quickly.

"I am Motura of the Vidiian Sodality. Where is Dereth?" The alien questioned.

He didn't know who was under the sheet on the the other biobed.

"Dead," Janeway answered bluntly.

She didn't give the alien any time to greive.

"What do you call the virus you carry?" she demanded to know.

"The phage," Motura replied. "It attacked my people over two millennia ago and has consumed our bodies and genetic code. Our immuno-technology cannot keep up. The phage adapts and resists all attempts to destroy it. Thousands die each day. We try to take the organs we need from the dead but sometimes when the need is immediate we must act more aggressively".

It was hard not to feel sorry for people suffering like this, even a battle harned Alliance marine like myself could show empathy, but Janeway refused to let her show. Her cool demenor was impressive the real life version of her was far more likeable the TV show character, although to be fair most of TV Voyager's problems were due to bad writing rather the lack of skilled actors or poor props.

"Warn your people. If I ever encounter your kind again I will do whatever is necessary to protect my people from this harvesting of yours," Janeway said firmly.

She then turned to her second officer.

"Transport him back to his ship and let him go" she ordered.

"I will see to it Captain," the man promised.

(Line Break)

 **Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of Reality.**

A few hours after Janeway had dealt with the Vidiian I'd captured I invited the senior officers to visit my warehouse so that I could show them my new toy. I'd even opened up the bottle of Romulan ale this Jump had provided me. It was illegal in the Federation, but we weren't in the Federation.

"You asked us to come here to see a weapon?" asked Captain Janeway.

Before answering that I poured the Romulan ale which was a highly intoxicating alcoholic beverage of Romulan origin with a characteristic blue colour. Despite the name it was actually a spirit, but aside from that I didn't know anything about.

Since this was the only bottle within this side of the galaxy, and because it was strong stuff, I only served a small measure to everyone. No one seemed to comment on the drink, perhaps they were just pretending that they didn't know what it was.

"Its not just a weapon" I explained as everyone got a chance to examine what Tali and I had created "Its a symbol of the alliance between my group and Voyager".

Tali, who currently in her quarian form, but helmet less, since it was safe for her to be exposed within the Cosmic Warehouse, took over at this point.

"Basically all we did is take a Prothean Particle Rifle and improve on it with Federation technology" she told everyone "As you know phasers when fired release a beam of subatomic particles called "rapid nadions", which are refracted through superconducting crystals"

Materials that were in a superconducting stated offered no resistance to the passage of electrical current. They weren't very well understood in my time, and while the Mass Effect galaxy did have a much better understanding of superconducting materials. However the Federation made much better use of this science.

"Which produces a weapon that is more efficient than a regular particle rifle since it doesn't lose much energy when fired" I added "Also unlike the particle weapons I created.. well recreated, this one has a stun setting".

Which meant rather than kill it would only disorientation, unconsciousness, and minor skin burns.

"Since I'll protecting away teams rather than going on special ops missions for the Alliance and the Council I figured I'd need a stun setting" I told the officer.

Tuvok, who I noted hadn't touched his drink, leaned in to inspect the weapon.

"Does not your disruptor rifle have a stun setting?" he asked.

Indeed it did. It could knock people out or even vaporise them, although that would be a waste of energy.

"Yes" I answered.

"Then creating this weapon would seem to be a waste of time and resources" the Vulcan pointed out.

No so much.

"I used my own resources, and I made sure I was well supplied for this jump" I said "and it didn't take that long really. Plus the weapon isn't purely symbolic of our alliance, it can be used on missions. Besides the Borg live in this quadrant, and they adapt to weapons so I thought it wise to have a variety of weapons just in case we're every boarded by drones".

Tuvok stepped away from the rifle.

"I'm also concerned that you have access to our weapons technology" he stated.

Which was a valid point. Tuvok had both Maquis crew to worry about and strangers on board, quite a security risk.

"I learned a lot about your technology as soon as I started this Jump" Tali told Tuvok "So even if we weren't on Voyager you couldn't stop us from using your technology, and that makes it pointless not to share".

Janeway had already considered this I was sure. This version of her seemed smarter than her TV show counterpart.

"And that would be a greater risk since without Voyager's protection our knowledge could fall into the hands of hostile species" I added.

Tuvok seemed to give in.

"I find your reasoning sound" was all he said.

By this time people had started looking around, and I let them since they were unlikely to start touching things they didn't understand. Besides they were a curious lot and it was better to let them poke around while supervised.

"What the hell is this?!" Tom Paris called out.

He was looking at my M35 Mako

"It looks like a cross between a monster truck and a tank" he said.

Which was what it looked like.

"It is a tank, sort of" I answered "Its an M35 Mako, its a scout mostly, meant for rapid deployment in rough terrain. Its armed and armoured, and it can take a hell of a beating. You need heavy weapons to crack open this baby, and its air tight. So you drive around a planet with a corrosive atmosphere for hours. Although I don't know why we'd ever do that".

Still it could come in handy down the road, which was why I'd gone to all the trouble of getting the dang thing in here.

"So you do have your own runabout" I heard Tom Paris say next "And your own shuttle".

According to Federation starship classification, a **runabout** was the designation of a type of vessel smaller than a starship but larger than a shuttle craft. Runabouts were equipped with limited weapons and drive systems, but offered additional living space and could be somewhat modified for different roles. They had a larger operational range and better weapons capability compared to shuttles, and were capable of speeds of up to warp 5.

As for the shuttle, it was the same civilian model that I'd had for years, and I'd hardly ever used it. Comparing it to the runabout would be like comparing a sports car built in 2018 a Volkswagen beetle, sure both would get you where you wanted to go, but the runabout would do it faster and with more style.

"The Runabout has a cloaking device and a tractor beam" I told Paris "But not much else, and the shuttle is a flying brick".

Tom turned to face his captain.

"If we're sharing technology then we should upgrade both the shuttle and runabout" he advised "We can't get replacements from Starfleet if we lose any shuttles and modifying these craft would be better than building new support craft".

Which Voyager seemed to be able to do given that it never ran out of shuttles in the show.

"Sounds like a good idea" approved Janeway as she turned to face me "Naturally we'll want access to these ships if we upgrade them, and you'll have to be trained to use our technology if you want to fly a runabout".

That seemed fair. It would benefit both groups.

"How do you get the ships out of here?" Voyager's second officer wondered "There's a bay door, but as I understand we're not exactly in our own universe right now, so that door opens, what's on the other side?".

I really had no idea.

"Guess we'll have to test it find out" I said.

Be'lanna Torres now had a confused look on her face.

"Wait if you don't know how the bay doors work then how did you get them in here?" she wondered.

This would take some explaining.


	3. Chapter 3

**Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Part 3**

 **Quarters. USS Voyager.**

I was lying on my bed thinking about stuff. I'd worried about a few things upon deciding on Star Trek: Voyager for my third Jump. I'd been concerned about stuff like Janeway's poor leadership, Starfleet's stupidity, and Neelix being all annoying.

None of which was bothering me because Janeway was being clever by avoiding weird space stuff, investigating such things was part of Starfleet's mission, but she'd simply pointed out that since there was no space dock for Voyager to go to when needing repairs that they needed to avoid risking damage to the ship.

Which wasn't to say that there was no exploring going on, it was just that it involved taking many, many long distance scans. Which was super boring.

Also a lot more time was spent stopping at planets to pick up supplies than I remembered from the show. Some resources were obtained either by salvaging or trading, sometimes we just went down to M-class planets and gathered food. Since Miranda had found her place among the crew as a sort of quartermaster, just as she'd planned, she was heavily involved in obtaining supplies.

While going on trading missions as an escort did mean I'd gotten to meet some new alien races, I'd not been able to acquire anything for my warehouse other than a few interesting looking trinkets that had no real use other than decoration. The aliens here didn't trade advance technology, unless it was for advanced tech, and none of it was better than what Voyager had.

If this hadn't been the case then the Kazon never would have been very interested in Voyager. But they were, although so far they seemed to be giving us a wide berth. Those organ stealing aliens were much more of a threat. I wasn't sure, however it seemed that we hadn't yet entered the main part of Kazon space.

Because of my Matter Furnace there was no need to worry about rare elements because we could just feed any matter, like say rock, to the strange device, or what ever it was, and if we fed enough to the Matter Furnace we would get enough of the rare material we needed. Although how the strange device knew that we wanted was a complete mystery, it had no controls or anyway of inputting data. It just knew.

Neelix had died, meaning he annoyed no one, and I had considered offering Kes a place in my group, since she had telepathic abilities and no doubt would like to extend her life, however Tom Paris had swooped in and I wasn't going to cock-block another guy, not when I had two women of my own. Four if you counted the AIs as real people.

Since I didn't have duty shifts, and because Janeway didn't send away teams off the ship to look at everything Voyager just happened to be passing by, I found myself with something I'd not had much of for what felt like years: free time.

While serving the Alliance, or at least while serving on the Normandy, I'd had plenty of shoreleave, Shepard had always understood the importance of even a little vacation time when ever possible for people who saw a lot of combat, those times had been holidays, and there had always been something to do.

Now things were different. I couldn't explore the massive Citadel which had amusements from many different worlds, or the more seedy entertainments of Omega station, and on this ship the use of the the holodeck was heavily rationed.

A thing that did annoy me was that because of Khan and his buddies this universe's late 20th and early 21st centuries had been different enough that a lot of the entertainments I'd known had gotten lost. As such I couldn't watch many of my favourite TV, show or movies, or even read some of my most beloved books.

Thankfully while my time in the Terminator verse had been short I'd been able to pick up a Xbox, DVD and a TV, which I now had installed in my quarters, as such I had some amusements. Compared to things like the holodeck and the replicators these devices used next to no energy so there were no problems setting them up in my quarters.

Still while it was fun to act like a teenager again and waste my life playing video games I really hoped for some action soon as I was worried by fighting skills would become rusty. At least I didn't need to worry about getting visibly flabby, between the metavore perk, and Cameron, I was staying in space. Plus she didn't mind spending hours playing co-op on Halo.

If only real women were all like her.

(Line Break)

 **Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of Reality.**

I signalled Miranda who gave me a thumbs up as she began recording with her omni-tool.

"Welcome to _Pimp My Runabout!"_ I loudly declared "On today's show we'll be pimping my runabout, modifying its systems to handle the rough and tumble of the Delta Quadrant. Also we will be adding some cool flaming skulls so that everyone knows how bad ass...".

"I was under the impression that we were upgrading this runabout for scouting mission" Tuvok said, intruding me "This should only involve installing up to date weapons systems and improving the shields, not any flaming skulls".

With a hand gesture I let Miranda know that I wanted her to stop recording. I then turned to the Starfleet group, which was made up of Tom Paris, Be'lanna Torres and Harry Kim. Also Cameron and Tali were here. We were all suppose to be working together to get my runabout as ready as possible for the troubles ahead.

"Mr Tuvok" I started by saying "Over the last few years I have played a major role in defeating three major threats to galactic civilization".

Granted the threats had always had the same source, but they'd come in different ways. Plus I'd defeated Skynet, but to be fair Cortana had done the heavy lifting during that jump.

"I've also spent a lot of time in battle, I've seen things that would drive more fragile minds totally mad, most of which were telepathically rammed into my skull, and I've saved an alternate version of Earth from being nuked by a rogue AI, so I think I am entitled to have a little fun".

Okay so I'd not been doing much actual work recently, but I was a galaxy saving hero, or at least the sidekick to one, I deserved flaming skulls on my runabout.

"Now if that fun includes making an amateur TV show then so be it. You could at least not interrupt, its rude and it is not logical to be rude to others" I then added.

Tuvok my have argued the point, but this was when senior officers got called to the bridge. It took me a moment to remember that I was sort of a senior officer and that I should go with them.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Voyager.**

Voyager's crew had come across a class D planet with a system of asteroids orbiting around it. The vessel's scanners had picked up a new element, the 247th known to the Federation, and it also didn't exist according to my omni-tool's data banks. Naturally Cortana wanted to scan this new element right away.

"248th" Miranda corrected.

She like Cameron had followed me to the bridge while Tali had gone done to engineering. Miranda already knew how to use Starfleet technology having chosen to acquire the knowledge while we'd been setting up the Jump. Tali had done the same, but she'd gone with a different skill set. I'd chosen a different type of knowledge since I had already had a head full of tech information thanks to the Cipher and the set up for the Mass Effect Jump.

"Element Zero isn't known to the Federation either" she then added.

Good point.

"I'm sure someone will request a sample sooner or later" I told the former Cerberus Operative "For now the two crews are still figuring out how to work together".

That wasn't going as smoothly as in the show. There was no violence between the two groups, and people from both sides were forming friendships, but there were tensions. Mostly due to the Maquis crew having to do the Starfleet way, and they didn't like Janeway because they didn't agree with her choice that got them stranded in this part of the galaxy.

Which could be another valid reason as to why the ship's leader was limiting the amount of exploring going on why she kept us moving at warp as much as possible. She didn't want the Maquis thinking that she was going to drag out the process of getting them home any more than she had to.

"Mr Gothic time to your keep!" Janeway called out from where she stood by her chair "I'm sending over an away team so that we can get a better look at this new element. Given what happened to Neelix during a similar mission I'd like you to escort them".

I had a feeling that it was unwise to go over there, but I couldn't recall why. It had been so long since I'd watched Voyager season 1. But whatever it was I figured that the away team would be better off with me watching their backs.

"See you later" I told Miranda as I made my way off the bridge.

(Line Break)

 **Burial Site. Asteroid Belt.**

When the transporter had finished its work the away team and we found ourselves within in a dank cave that was within one of the asteroids. While I didn't think there'd be any direct threat, despite the feeling of misgivings, I'd had earlier, I'd still taken the time to put on my armour, to grab my equipment, and to pick up a weapon.

Sure my Colossus armour and kinetic barriers wouldn't be much help against energy weapons, which everyone with space ships used in this galaxy as far as I knew, it was possible that we might run into a species that used guns, and my armour would be of help against stabbing like those used by races such as Kingons, and there could be races much those crinkle headed fuckers in these parts. Also I was wearing my life support belt, which did give me a personal shield, but it was meant to protect against hostile environments not weapons fire. Still it was better than nothing.

As for weapons I carried the new version of the Prothean weapon I'd recreated, which was called a Phased Particle Rifle. Tali had modified the design again and while I didn't understand exactly what she'd done, I did know how to use the weapon. It wasn't that different than a regular phaser now, which meant the Borg would adapt to it very quickly, but we could worry about gunning down drones later. For now I wanted a good weapon for dealing with the likes of the Kazon and the Phased Particle Rifle would do its job just fine.

The cave was lined by a spider web-like substance, which stuck to every surface, given the thickness of the material and the sheer amount of it the cave should have been full of large bugs, but there were no signs of life.

"There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger Commander" Tuvok stated, while looking at his tricorder.

Upon hearing that the Starfleet officers put their weapons away but I kept a firm grip on mine. I knew not to let my guard down so easily.

"Commander, I think I've found what we're looking for" Harry Kim soon told the group "It seems to be that the webbing all around us is made of the new element".

I scanned it with my omni-tool. It was a stable, transuranic element, which was odd because according to Cortana transuranic elements are generally unstable and radioactive like plutonium. Dilithium was as well a transuranic element used in energy production like how plutonium could be used in a nuclear reactor.

Also she insisted that a stable transuranic element could not exist naturally, but according the Federation science element zero shouldn't naturally exist either. What made this even strange was that most transuranic elements were metals were as this stuff seemed organic. Clearly the multi-verse was more complex than I had already imagined.

"OK. Be careful. Let's have a look and see if we can't determine what's causing the webbing" Voyager's second officer was saying. "Take active scans of everything. We'll grab a sample once we're ready to leave."

The four of us wandered around the cave system. Room after room was the same, webbing across all surfaces. Interestingly, none of it stuck to our bodies, it was like it was attracted to the rock that made up the cave. Which was yet another thing that didn't make sense.

My omni-tool simply didn't have the sophisticated sensors required for Cortana to figure things out, if were possible for her to do so, needless to say I'd have to upgrade the omni-tool with Starfleet tech soon. Which would at least give me something to.

I could have worked on some tech projects recently, but I just hadn't motivated. After so long spent rushing about a galaxy on the Normandy I seemed to have used up most of my enthusiasm for space exploration and advanced tech. Sure I might soon rediscover my desire for science fiction adventure, but I was so going to do a magic verse for my next Jump even if it meant putting my girls who didn't want to go into stasis for at leas some of the time.

"Uhh, Commander Chakotay, you'd better come look here" Harry Kim said.

We'd just entered a new cavern, and this was not empty of anything other than the strange element.

"Bodies" Tuvok said

Indeed we were in a room full of bodies, and oddly there was no smell, yet it was actually pleasantly warm here, so I should be able to smell decay. Perhaps it had something to do with the material the bodies were wrapped in.

I watched Kim crouched down and waved his tricorder over one of the dead aliens.

"Commander, it looks like the webbing comes from these aliens. This one is in a state of decay where its skin seems to be turning into the webbing" he reported.

So the element, that was both transuranic while being stable and non-radioactive, was part of the decaying process for an alien species. How the hell did that work? It made no sense? Sure decay could create gases as a body broke down, but why would it make something that looked webbing?

"Yes, it appears we're in a burial ground." Chakotay was now saying.

That part didn't bother me since I'd walked through battlefields once the fighting had stopped. A bunch of space mummies wrapped up on a rock in space was actually rather nice when compared to some of states I'd found people in when both alive and dead.

"We've also been stepping on their remains" the Commander said grimly, as he tapped his comm badge "Chakotay to Voyager, Captain come in".

"Janeway here" the captain replied.

Her voice was crackled slightly. Interference of some-kind.

"Captain, it looks like we've come across some sort of alien burial ground" the second officer reported "It seems like these aliens bring their dead here for some unknown reason. Our scans show that outer layers of their bodies break down into a sort of web like materiel, which is made of the new element we detected".

The Commander gave Janeway a moment to absorb that information before speaking again.

"Captain I would recommend that we leave now, and that we don't take a sample back. I would hate to disturb a people's burial site" he said next "Respect for the dead aside the aliens who make use of these asteroids as final resting places might take offence if they find out".

That was actually good reasoning. I'd be very upset if some aliens came along and messed around in graveyards, even if it was for scientific reasons. Besides we had scans of the new element, that was something at least.

"We will beam you up now. Stand by" Janeway replied.

Suddenly there was a bright light, and as we were transported away I heard someone call out for help.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. Voyager.**

Things had not gone so well. First the away team had disturbed the final resting place for an unknown alien race, and just as they were leaving poor Harry Kim had vanished due to some sort of never before encountered subspace anomaly.

Which was just the kind of thing the captain had been trying to avoid. She couldn't exactly replace lost crew members as such she was less willing to risk them, it was a practical concern. She had to weigh the risks, not just for the people going on away missions, but those on the ship, against her desire as a Starfleet officer to explore.

She hadn't given up on Harry Kim, he'd vanished, there was no body, or to be more precise they didn't have his body. Someone had appeared as he'd disappeared. Which meant the subspace disturbance they'd detected might be somewhat like a wormhole, allowing passage in two directions. If so Harry could be recovered.

"How were you able to revive her?" Janeway inquired a few moments after she'd arrived in the medical bay.

The Doctor was proving his value to the crew. He'd been able to restore the life of the person most recently sent to the asteroid, which meant they could question someone about all this and hopefully get some answers to their questions. One of which was: Where is Harry Kim?.

"She was dying due to cancerous growth on her brain stem, but that wasn't what killed her" the EMH reported "Her heart was stopped just before she appeared on the asteroid. Some form of assisted suicide I imagine since I can find any evidence that she's been restrained".

The projection of light had more to say.

"With Kes' help I removed the tumour" the hologram was now saying "From there I used the standard Starfleet post mortem resuscitation technique for a class five life form".

Janeway needed to know more.

"Why was she covered with this bio-polymer the away team found her coated in?" Kathryn Janeway queried.

Tuvok, who'd been here before Janeway arrived, provided the answer this time.

"The bio-polymer was a bi-product of her tissue degrading. It's apparently natural to her species, and I suspected the process was sped up somehow" he said "I'll have a full report on your desk as soon as possible".

By now the Doctor was ready to wake up his patient. Janeway and her first officer followed the hologram over to the bio-bed.

"You all might want to back away. I am sure she will be quite startled" the EMH suggested.

She was indeed startled, but after a short while she calmed down enough to supply some information.

"I'm Ptera," the female told everyone

"Where is my brother?" Ptera then asked "He's suppose to be waiting for in the next life".

Janeway did her best to soothe the upset alien woman.

"Ptera you aren't dead," she assured the revived alien "You are quite alive. We've healed your illness. You were transported away from your world. We will find a way to send you back".

The alien was confused more than scared at this point.

"But I must be dead. The cenotaph euthanasias people before sending them to the Next Emanation, what we call the after life" Ptera said.

This wasn't a total surprise since the Doctor had mentioned assisted suicide just moments ago, but what bothered Janeway was that she got the sense that this enthaniza was common for this alien's race.

"Ptera, your brain aneurysm wasn't treatable by your people, correct?" the EMH asked, a frown on his holographic face.

She nodded.

"That's right. In our society if we know we are to die we go to the cenotaph to be transported to the next emanation" she answered.

"So it's only your sick then?" Chakotay asked.

That didn't sound to bad. Different cultures had different ways and while Federation doctors could easily fix cancer, that wasn't the case for some civilizations. Some races would consider a quick, painless death to be better than letting the disease run its course.

"And our elderly" Ptera was now saying "And people who don't want to live any more".

Janeway was now trying to keep the judgement off her face. She obviously didn't succeed as a flash of anger came over Ptera

"It's their choice, don't you think that everyone has a right to end their lives if they chose" she said.

That was a complex issue, and this wasn't the time to discuss it. For now Janeway needed to focus on getting her crewman back. To do that she needed information. With that in mind the captain began her questioning.

(Line Break)

 **Briefing Room. USS Voyager.**

"Now that we have the readings and some information on what to expect on the other side, we can open a vacuole, as Ptera called it, from our side and go through into her world. We should be able to find Harry, and return Ptera to her family" Janeway said.

That made it sound a lot simpler than it was. The Doctor, whose image was the screen looked a little upset. I also noticed that some of the other senior officers seemed unsettled by something.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

We really should be discussing who'd be going to fetch Harry.

"It seems their people regularly practice euthanasia, and they are using the vacuoles to deposit their dead" the Captain explained "The people being killed, believe they are transported to an afterlife of sorts rather than an asteroid".

To me this wasn't a big deal.

"I approve of euthanasia as long as its done on people who consent" I said "Its their lives so it's their choice at the end of the day, even if there are some who are against it and would never be euthanized that doesn't make killing yourself a crime. Some people just don't want to spend what's left of their lives in pain, or they don't want to be a burden on their loved ones".

The EMH, being a doctor didn't agree, which made sense because he'd be programmed to preserve life at all cost. Tuvok approved somewhat since the Vulcan people had a practice of the elderly going off to die rather than be a burden on their families.

"My people would never dream of wasting any of our 9 years of life" Kes told everyone "But the Caretaker looked after my people, and our thanks to him our medical science was advanced. Maybe if we lived longer and couldn't treat some illnesses we might feel different".

There was more to say.

"It seems their modus operandi is to cut people down as soon as they are no longer useful" the Doctor said "To them its better to replace than repair. I think their society is flawed".

Well I got the feeling that this version of Janeway would remember the Prime Directive and not try to change things. Most of the time I didn't really agree with Starfleet's Order Number 1, but it did make sense now because if we did try to change these aliens so that they didn't kill everyone who could be considered a burden it might result major problems for their civilization since it was unlikely that they had systems in place to take care of the terminally ill, mentally ill, and elderly. In this case change would best come from within. In fact it might soon once people found out from Harry Kim what was actually to their bodies once they died.

"We come from a mixture of cultures each with different viewpoints on matters like death and the after life" the Captain said after others had spoken "And while its good that we have these beliefs and customs that make each of us such special people, what matters right now is getting Harry Kim back".

I'd be sent most likely. My mixture of skills and experience from going on a varity of missions made me highly qualified.

"Yes Captain, opening a portal should be simple enough, sadly its not something that will help us because these portals, for lack of a better term, aren't wormholes, they could be gateways to a totally different reality" B'Elanna Torres reported.

At least getting back wouldn't be too hard.

"The aliens must be able to control where they send the bodies" I said "I'll just get one of them to open up a portal, or whatever you want to call it. The asteroids have atmospheres so all we have to do when we get back is call Voyager to come get us".

Janeway smiled.

"Well if anyone on this ship is qualified to take a trip into another universe then its you" the Captain stated.

I nodded.

"Give me a little time to get ready and I'll take Cameron with me to fetch Mr Kim" I said.

(Line Break)

 **Cosmic Warehouse. Outside of the Universe.**

Saving Harry had been a simple affair. I'd appeared in a place that was what I could only describe a cross between a hospital and a funeral home. Upon seeing me the natives of whatever world that had been, chose to stay out of my way. Cameron had come with me since she was my bodyguard.

The aliens getting out of my way had made it simple enough for me to find Harry, he'd been the only human life sign aside from myself, it had been a bit of a chore to get one of the aliens to open up one of their enough the guy in charge of overseeing the assisted suicides hadn't been at all eager to die. Not that I would have killed him, thankfully the threat had been enough.

Now I was in the warehouse putting away a new Prothean data disc, which Federation science could replicate, a disc that contained all the information I'd gathered on the webbing element as well as on the strange doorways the aliens used that somehow involved subspace.

As I put the container of discs back on the shelf I mused about how my data discs were the most valuable things in this warehouse, as well the most dangerous, and I had a tank in here.

"Knowledge is power, hide it well" I muttered "I should write it on these boxes".

Despite the volume of my voice Cameron, who followed me everywhere and was rarely noticed doing so, heard me.

" _Scientia potentia est, cela bene"_ she said "It sounds better in Latin". _  
_

This was when I noticed one of my data discs. It was filled with information on the design of robots. Sercurity mechs. I knew that Voyager once sooner or later be boarded, and while I had robots under my command they were part of the Cosmic Warehouse's defences. It might not be such a bad idea to have some robots I could take out of the Warehouse should a boarding action take place. It would take some time to build them. But it would give me something to do while Voyager spent weeks at warp.

I reached for the data disc and took it out if its protective packaging. Then I walked over the Cameron, who was just standing around.

"Come on" I told her "We have work to do".


	4. Chapter 4

**Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Part 4**

 **Mess Hall. Voyager.**

Because we had different duties on the ship, it was rare for Miranda, Tali and I to eat a meal together. It was the downside to finding productive uses for our time that aided the crew while also learning more about Federation technology.

I suspected that they were both working too hard, or it could be a lack of shore leave. We'd been in space for weeks now without stopping, and while Voyager was bigger and far more comfortable than the Normandy, it was still stuck in space. Perhaps I should take my girls to the holodeck sometime soon.

From where our table was positioned, I could see and hear a lively conversation taking place between B'Elanna Torres, and Seska, who was a Cardassasin spy I'd been thinking about exposing. Tom Paris, and Harry Kim, were also close by.

"What?" B'Elanna innocently asked Seska.

"I've seen that look before. Ensign Murphy had better watch out," Seska replied knowingly.

Personally I couldn't see the attraction, but I had a high standard in sexual partners. Miranda was a reasonable attempt at making a perfect human being, Tali was a freaking genius and attractive in either body, although I'd never gotten used to her quarian feet. Cameron had literately been made to keep me safe and happy, granted she was still learning how to do that, but I enjoyed having her around. Because I was so spoilt in that way normal humans just didn't do much for me.

"I happen to know that Murphy is seeing one of the Delaney sisters" the hybrid replied.

The Delaney sisters were Human twins, Jenny and Megan. I'd met them briefly just once, and all I knew about them aside from them being twins was that their work involved mapping space. Given that nearly all of space is empty I couldn't imagine it was thrilling work.

"Not since Harry and Tom Paris made their move" the spy replied.

"Harry? And the Delaney sisters? Ha, he would've told me"

Seska shrugged.

"I guess there are some things he keeps to himself" she then said.

Watching I saw B'Elanna turn to face Harry, who was at the table behind them.

"Harry? Is it true about you and the Delaney sisters?" she wished to know.

I didn't normally listen to gossip, but no one in my group had anything to say. Tali was now in charge of the night shift in engineering and Miranda worked odd hours when she needed to. Another reason why we didn't see each other much.

"Is what true?" he asked.

"Come on, Harry, there aren't any secrets on a ship this small," Seska told him.

Harry turned to Tom, he seemed exasperated.

"What have you been telling people?" he asked.

"Well, we did take that trip to Venice with them," Tom replied, smiling.

"The holodeck? You gotta be kidding. That lasted all of fifteen minutes!" Harry protested.

"Yeah, you know, I've been meaning to ask you," Tom Paris said, now looking both curious and amused. "What happened when you and Jenny Delaney disappeared in that gondola?".

"Nothing," Harry replied insistently.

"Harry, we're your friends. You can tell us," B'Elanna coaxed.

"Nothing. We talked, and then…I fell over the side"

Seska and B'Elanna burst into laughter while Tom winced.

"You 'fell out' of the gondola?" Seska asked, still laughing.

Tom looked highly amused.

"I think maybe Harry wasn't quite prepared for how voracious Jenny Delaney can be"

This caused more laughter, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the Captain, who was saying something to Tuvok. I could hear them quite clearly even though the captain was making an effort to keep her voice down. I had enhanced senses thanks to all the upgrades I'd gotten from Jump Chain.

"I think it's finally beginning to happen," Kathryn Janeway said. "Both crews are getting along"

"That kind of bonding should improve performance and maximize efficiency," Tuvok replied

He may have missed the point.

"Yes, I'm sure it will," the captain said.

This was when a comm signal sounded.

"Senior officers to the bridge" the ship's second in command said over the internal communcations system "We're receiving a distress call".

While no one had ever actually told me to come to bridge at times like this, no one ever told me not to either. So I went.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Voyager.**

"Captain, I am detecting the source of the distress call," Ensign Kim said, "On a heading 020 mark 4".

The Captain had tried to reply already, but as it turned out the message was from some sort of automated system, it was just a repeating SOS.

"Tom, set a course," Janeway ordered.

A few minutes later Voyager was at the source, which was odd because even at warp it took a while to traverse even a single light year and space was vast. Which meant it was unlikely that we'd just happen to be so close to the source. It could be a trap.

"Tuvok, hail the vessel," the Captain said as she stood up.

A somewhat older looking man soon appeared on the view screen.

"Good day, I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager" the ship's leader said "You sent out a distress call? How can we help?".

He seemed fine to me. But he was a very human looking alien, as some were in this galaxy for some reason.

"Yes Captain," than man replied, his face breaking out into a massive grin. "But it is not us who are in distress, but you".

This guy didn't seem to understand how distress signals worked. You weren't suppose to use them to lure in people who are in distress, you use them to call for help.

"My name is Gathorel, and let me assure you we can help you" the alien was now saying.

"Normally when we get distress calls it's because someone's actually in distress, not because they want our attention. You could have simply hailed us" Janeway chastised "That said: How do you think you can help us".

The alien kept on smiling. It was freaking me out a little.

"Perhaps you'd like to join us on our planet, we can arrange a cultural exchange as you rest, makee use of one our planet resorts". the alien suggested.

Wait did he meant a resort on a planet, or was the planet the resort?

"Tell me, how do you know about us?" Janeway was now asking.

"Our people are very well travelled" he answered "Some of them have brought back stories about the ship of aliens from another part of the galaxy—people lost and alone, struggling to find their way home again, so romantic".

Didn't seem romantic to me.

"One moment please Gathorel," the Captain said.

She motioned to Tuvok, and the beep of the mute function rang out.

"Well?" she asked as she looked at Chakotay, "What do you think?".

"His offer seems genuine, Captain" the other officer replied "It would be a good chance to study the culture of one of the few delta quadrant species we have met so far, we haven't take much time for first contact missions, and have no idea when we might get another chance for some shore leave. I would recommend taking him up on his offer."

She nodded as he finished.

"Tuvok?" she asked "Any risk do you think?".

Before answering he checked his scans.

"The vessel has minimal armaments" the Vulcan soon reported "Their power output is limited as well. I believe they pose us no threat".

She motioned towards the view-screen again, and the unmute sound filled the air for just a moment.

"We would be delighted to take you up on your offer, Gathorel, would you like to lead the way?" she asked.

Good timing. I had just been thinking about taking my girls for some R&R, not that Cameron needed it, and for Cortana it was no different than normal, but Tali and Miranda would enjoy it.

Still it seemed to be happening rather quickly. With no one even mentioning the possibility that we were being lured into an ambush, but these Starfleet types were more trusting and optimistic than the Alliance so perhaps it wasn't so strange.

"Of course" the alien said "Follow me".

The view-screen went back to showing his ship and the space around it as he took off, Voyager soon following closely behind.

(Line Break)

 **Sikarian World. Delta Quadrant.**

The public area that Gathorel, or Gath as he preferred to be called, led us to was made mostly of a beautiful white stone that when combined with the smell of a nearby ocean, had an instant calming effect. I knew this because I'd been tense when beaming down, still wary of an ambush.

Again I noted how trusting the Starfleet types were compared to my group. I was not wearing armour for a change, having decided to wear 21st clothing, mostly black coloured denim, but I did have a pistol on my hip, a dagger hidden on my person, and my life support belt, which was getting around to being copied.

Miranda and Cameron also carried side-arms, and Tali had even brought her shotgun with her, but she rarely went anywhere without one. Not since Fist had tried to kill her on behalf of Saren, all the way back when we'd first met.

Looking around us I saw that there were steps made of white and light brown stone leading to various levels, a glowing circular platform in the centre of the area, a few curved stone benches, and some sculptures made of metal, and all of that was mostly hidden by what I guessed to me an outdoor market.

As we walked we passed by a Sikarian woman who was at a stall that offered exotic looking fabrics, and we all stopped for a closer look. Well most of us, already the larger than normal landing party was starting to move apart as people checked out the sights.

"If you see anything you like, just let me know," Gath said happily.

I wondered if this place was like Risa. Meaning that the whole planet was a resort, and nothing cost anything. If not then I was sure I'd have something to exchange for some local currency.

"What is this material? It's so delicate," I heard the captain ask.

"Exquisite, isn't it?" Gath replied, clearly delighted in her interest "It's the latest import from Dedestris. It's spun from the petals of a flower that blooms only in moonlight. Shall I have a dress made for you?"

The captain seemed a little overwhelmed by his generosity.

"It's lovely but, no, thank you" she replied.

"Is it so hard for you to accept a gift?"

She quickly wavered.

"Well…all right, but something small. Maybe a scarf?"

"What a curious people you are. Tell me, would it help if I said that you could have an entire wardrobe made from these beautiful fabrics and that it would give all of us pleasure to create it for you?" he asked.

Well, well someone had the hots for the Captain. I was sure if I should pity him or not.

"Let's…start with the scarf," she said with a smile

Miranda then got the captain's attention.

"I'll need to make arrangements for supplies" she told Janeway and our host "We're well stocked in most respects, but we could do with expanding our food supplies in case we can't resupply for a while".

The replicators used a lot of energy to feed the crew every day, and it much harder to refuel a starship than it was to keep food freshly stored so it was best to grab as much of the stuff as we could when we could.

"Don't forget the cultural exchange" Janeway said "I assume you'll want some examples of our art, music and stories".

Gath gestured to another man, one who'd been standing not far away.

"This is my associate, Jaret Otel. He will help you make any necessary arrangements" our host told us.

Jaret was much younger than Gath, with medium brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"We'll be glad to assist you in any way we can," he said helpfully.

At this point I had to wonder what they were all getting out of this. Perhaps nothing more than amusment. I was starting to be reminded of the Elder from Warhammer before their fall from grace, who like these aliens seemed human at first glance, but when you looked closer became somewhat unsettling. Hopefully these Sikarian hadn't gotten to the murderfucking part of the hedonist life style.

"I'll find my officers and we'll return to the ship," the Captain said "Once we have the cultural information ready I'll start arranging shore leave for the whole crew. If there is anything your looking for from our database let me know, we have a wide range of entertainments and art from taken from many worlds in our part of the galaxy".

Janeway had spoke well. She'd figured out that this race craved diversions more than anything else.

"Tonight we are having a celebration here. I hope you and your officers will be my guests." Gath said.

I was now thinking that I should have spent more time gathering cultural stuff myself when in the Mass Effect verse, but I'd never had much love for stuff such as art and poems. I was hardly a barbarian, I liked me a good story, but I found beauty in other places.

"We'd be delighted." I heard the Captain say.

"It's settled then. We'll see you tonight".

I'd go, just make sure there was no murderfucking.

(Line Break)

 **Resort. Alien Planet.**

Not long after returning to the planet, I got a chance to talk with the locals, which allowed to make some deductions after gathering facts and seeking information via more conversations with not only the locals, but with other visitors who were from this part of the galaxy.

As it turned out the Sikarians were a technologically advanced species that were well known for their hospitality to visitors, especially those in need. They were very generous, and could afford to be, because they'd surpassed poverty, war and nearly all crime, much like the Federation, only they'd not become a race of explorers and scientists, instead they'd become pleasure seekers.

While this was their homeworld it wasn't heavily populated. I was informed that about 620.5 million people lived on this word, I saw no evidence of any sort of culling that would be needed to keep a population in check, but I also saw no children.

At first I'd thought that was because this was a place for adults, as it turned out I was right, but not just for the reasons I'd imagined. Very people had children as they got in the way of having a good time. Sure some people enjoyed raising children but not that many did so here.

And that while many of them travelled the Sikarians didn't set up colonies. Also while many of them did work on things that pleased them, like creating art, new styles of clothing and such, mostly things were imported and they seemed to bore of things quickly. It made me wonder what they'd do when they ran out of new foods, fabrics and such.

This was not a race on the rise like humanity, this was a race heading the other way. Their population was lowering, their space ships were few and not that advanced when compared to Voyager, the only thing truly impressive about them was the vast amounts of energy they could generate.

I soon found that literature of was particular interest to the Sikarians, for them stories were more than entertainment, they seemed to be a measuring rod of values and beliefs. They believed stories to be an essential part of every person's being, and would not retell them without permission from those who told them to them. Which was why they'd wanted a cultural exchange upon meeting.

They also accepted them as a form of barter, and I did actually have some of since Tali had thought to fill her omni-tool with her favourite books and films, however I had a lot of music. I'd introduced the genres of metal and rock to the Delta Quadrant. They didn't value music as much as stories, they still had value. Voyager had a lot classical music I was allowed to use in trade.

"Maybe its just me or some of the female crew a bit annoyed" I asked Tom Paris as he passed me by.

He looked around as if worried someone might overhear him.

"Yeah the local brothel tried to hire some of the crew" he explained "And it wasn't just the women".

The last time I'd been a brothel was when I'd crashed an air car into a swimming pool. At the time it hadn't been much fun because of the rogue Spectre we'd been chasing and the hostage taking, but now I could see the funny side of it.

"Please I hope you don't offence" said, a Sikarian, who was a trader by profession "Its just that your peoples are from so far away that we've never seen you before. That makes you new, and our people always seeks new pleasures and experiences".

I understood what he meant and took no offense, and Tom seemed not to care, as he walked away. Perhaps he was planning to visit the local whore house, not my cup of tea, but I didn't judge. Although since money wasn't used here I wasn't sure how someone could run a brotheal or use it services. Not that I cared enough to go find out.

"So aside from stories, music, art and fabrics, what do your people value?" I asked.

Jaret Otel was a man sought to extend his influence, and since his people cared for nothing for any form of money, or a military, and he didn't have political connections like Gathorel Labin had used to obtain his high rank, Jaret had become a dealer. He found it pleasurable to take advantage of his race's desires. He traded information mostly, he right kind of which always had value, as well as new diversions, often for future favours.

I'd sold music and films to him, which were valued far less than written stories for some reason, and in exchange he'd arranged for Voyager to be very well supplied in things I couldn't just get from the Matter Furnace, like fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds, wines, cheeses, that sort of thing.

His people didn't trade technology, but they were okay swapping information such as star charts. They'd mapped an impressive distance from their homeworld, but there were large gaps in their charts and some worlds hadn't been visited for centuries. Still this information was well worth the cook books I'd stored on data discs, which was information I'd never thought I'd be so grateful for past me taking the trouble to record.

"Anything that brings pleasure or at least serves as a distraction" Otel answered.

I now had an idea of something else I could trade.

"Then I should show a thing we have called video games" I said to Jaret "They can be very diverting".

I was sure that he would have something of value to exchange for what I had.

(Line Break)

 **Alien Planet. Delta Quadrant.**

Kathryn Janeway tried to keep herself calm as she appeared down to the planet, but the technology which Ensign Kim had brought to her attention was difficult to ignore. She was hoping to find a diplomatic way to acquire this technology.

Gath met her at the transport site with a huge smile and a hug, and they began to walk together. They exchanged some idle chatter for a while, but the Captain soon got down to business.

"Have you spoken with the other Magistrates about using the trajector?" she asked him.

Gath shook his head.

"Actually, I haven't" he answered "Some of them are travelling right now, but I assure you I will call for a meeting as soon as I can".

As they talked they passed a merchant peddling his metal wares. The man attempted to show them to Gath who waved the man off dismissively.

"Eh, I've already seen those" he said.

Janeway cleared her throat in an effort to redirect Gath's attention.

"It's becoming a matter of some urgency" she said.

"Oh? Why is that?" Gath wondered.

She tried to be diplomatic and polite as possible, but she was just as eager as any member of her crew to obtain this technology, she was better at hiding it.

"We've imposed on you for far too long" she told him.

Gath smiled upon hearing this.

"Not true! We welcome you for as long as you can stay" he said as placed a hand on her shoulder "And I hope that's a very long time indeed".

Alas for him it couldn't be.

"My crew is eager to continue our journey" Janeway explained "Once they realized the trajector might bring us 40,000 light years closer to home…"

Gath interrupted her.

"Why are you so consumed with this desire to get home?" he wondered "I find it so difficult to understand".

"Home is home," she said, while trying to figure out how someone could not understand that. "It's where we belong".

Gath simply didn't get it.

"Couldn't you create a new home here, with us?" he asked "Can you imagine a more delightful place to live? Where else could you pass your time extracting pleasure from every moment?".

He softly kissed her hand, rather intimately for someone she'd know for only a few days.

"I promise you, you and I have many such moments to explore" he then said.

Janeway would not be so easily seduced.

"Yes, but for how long?" she questioned as she gently pulled her hand back. "I've seen how quickly you get tired of your pleasures. All that interests you is what's new and unexplored. After a day or two it becomes commonplace. We prefer permanence, the reward of relationships that endure and grow deeper with the passing of time".

Gath shrugged as if that didn't matter.

"You would lose those notions if you stayed with us" he stated.

Kathryn Janeway sighed, she knew that this discussion wasn't going anywhere she wanted it to go.

"You may be right. And that's why we have to leave" she said.

Gath stepped back, he was clearly irritated.

"We have offered you nothing but hospitality" he said, sounding as annoyed as he looked "Is this how you repay us, with an attack on our beliefs?".

She tried to remain diplomatic

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to illustrate the differences between us" she explained.

Gath wasn't so easily soothed.

"I don't enjoy being judged like this. It's very upsetting, and not at all pleasurable" he said.

Diplomacy went out the window at this point. Janeway just wouldn't let herself be strung along.

"That's all you really care about, isn't it? Your pleasure. All your hospitality, your graciousness, it was never about giving us pleasure, it's all been to gratify yourselves" the captain said "We're nothing more than the latest novelty".

This should have been clear to her from the start.

"You're hostile and vicious" Gath stated "You would infect the joyousness of our lives. You must leave immediately."

Janeway was now getting angry.

"You never had any intention of helping us, did you?" she said,

"Of course I did. I did everything in my power to persuade you to stay here" Gath told her.

She shook her head in disbelief and disgust. Then she tapped her comm badge.

"Janeway to _Voyager_. One to beam up".

(Line Break)

 **Mess Hall. USS Voyager.**

Sometimes I despaired because I so often ended up involved in other people's messes. The Shepard's Flock drawback no longer effected me, which was nice since it had been weeks since anyone had tried to kill me, yet I was still in the thick of things.

While it did make a certain amount of sense, since I was at least partly here to entertain Jump Chan, that didn't mean it wasn't highly annoying.

I'd spent most our time here on the planet making deals. I'd picked a skill set for this Jump which made me ideal for trading on behalf of Voyager. I'd selected these skills mostly because I'd wanted to be something different from the good solider had been under Shepard's command. Being a trader with diplomatic skills

Janeway had known this and as such she'd given me permission to make agreements for supplying the ship as long as I got final approval from her or the ship's commander. Once I'd gotten the goods, Miranda took the time to organise them. Effective team work.

Now that we were done with that. The crew of Voyager had been told to leave, which meant to no shore leave for me. Not that I hadn't enjoy a chance to try my new skills. I'd been able to make use of both my diplomacy training and my mercantile training, but still I would have liked to have the chance to visit one of their beaches or theme parks.

Now I didn't think I'd be able to return to the planet. However that could change soon as several members of the crew had gotten to discussing the issue as we sat down to eat.

"I don't know what to do," Harry was saying. "I know we'd all like to get that much closer to home, but I don't think Captain Janeway is going to go for getting the technology this way".

By that he meant trade for it in a shady deal. I knew that this was pointless since the tech wouldn't work, if it had Voyager would have been a short show. Sure it might work in this version, but I'd ended the last two Jumps in less than ten years, and while my ME jump would have been entertaining enough for Jump Chan not to mind me leaving before a full decade passed by I'd only visited the Terminator Verse. As such I felt sure that Jump Chan would not let me end this adventure so quickly by returning Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant in the first season.

On the other hand I had the No Fate But What We Make Perk so it was possible that because I was here that Voyager could get home early. The downside to that was that without Voyager being here no one would be able to stop Species 8472.

"Maybe she will," B'Elanna argued. "After all, it's a Sikarian who's making the offer".

A Sikarian trader, not a member of the government, oh he had some influence with people like Gathorel Labin, but that was because he was the one who got them new pleasures. He had no formal authority.

"But it's not above board. The captain is only going to deal with an official representative," Tom Paris countered.

The debate was cut short

" _Bridge to Ensign Kim. The Captain can see you now._ "

"Just tell her everything you know. Let her take it from there," Tom told Harry.

He seemed nervous.

"Right…"

Tom offered to go with Harry, and that just left me alone with the two females. One of which I had mused about killing in an 'accident' however I was pretty sure I'd be discovered. None of my training would aid me in becoming an assassin. I was many things, mostly a solider, and while that did involve killing it didn't make me a murderer.

"Somehow, I have a bad feeling about this. It's just not going to work out" B'Elanna Torres said.

I bite my tongue. I couldn't expose just how much I knew about what was going on because I didn't want to change the future. I'd come here for the tech but also for Seven of Nine so things had to stay on track as much as possible. Yet I was unable to keep my mouth shut.

"It won't work" I said "If they could transport us half way home they'd have made the offer already. They like helping people as long as it really doesn't cost them anything, and these long distance transporters of theirs are something they use for fun so they can hardly be expensive to run. So either they want to us to stay here, or they really can't help us, perhaps it doesn't work with ships. Gathorel Labin's vessel used warp drive remember?".

Seska didn't pay my words much attention. But the other woman in the room, she did look to be thinking it over.

"We have to at least try, and we can't let someone else make the decision for us" the spy argued "We've been offered the grand prize. All we have to do is step up and claim it".

"Take the technology, without permission?" Be'lanna Torres asked.

"Do you think permission is more important than getting us half way home?" Seska asked her 'friend' "The captain is so infatuated with the Sikarian Magistrate she can't think straight".

From what I'd seen any infatuation involved came from Gathorel Labin only, but I could be wrong about that.

"Think about what happened with the Caretaker's array. We can't trust that she's going to make the best decision for all of us," Seska continued by saying "If we do this, we'll need to use Engineering to configure the matrix. It would be a lot easier if we knew we could count on you".

Who was this 'we' business. I was against this.

"Seska, I am a senior officer now. I have responsibilities" her friend argued.

"And the main responsibility for everyone on this ship is to try to find a way home" the spy reminded us "Captain Janeway made that clear from the beginning. That's our primary mission. Just think about it, that's all I'm asking".

With that people went their separate ways.

(Line Break)

 **Ready Room. USS Voyager.**

"I take full responsibility for what happened," B'Elanna was explaining to Captain Janeway. "There were others involved, but I was the senior officer and the culpability is mine",

Tuvok stepped forward.

"Lieutenant Torres is not precisely correct, captain" he said "She was not the senior officer involved…I was".

This surprised the high ranking officer. She never would have expected him to behind the illegal actions that nearly led to Voyager being destroyed by an attempt at using untested alien technology.

"You?" Kathryn Janeway asked in a whisper.

She then turned to B'Elanna.

"I don't have the luxury of throwing you in the brig for the rest of this voyage" Janeway said "I need you. I need every person on this ship. But I want you to know how very deeply you have disappointed me. If there are any further transgressions, even a minor one, you will no longer be an officer on this crew. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am" Torres said.

"Dismissed" Janeway ordered.

When B'Elanna had gone, she returned her gaze to Tuvok, trying to comprehend the situation. She rubbed her temples. Her frustration over this matter giving her a headache.

"I don't even know where to start" she said after a while "I want you to explain to me how you, of all people, could be involved in this".

Tuvok did just that.

"It is quite simple, captain. You have made it clear on many occasions that your highest goal for the crew is to get them home, but in this instance your standards would not allow you to violate Sikarian law" the Vulcan told Janeway "Someone had to spare you the ethical dilemma. I was the logical choice, and so I chose to act".

She realized the gravity of what he was saying.

"You did it for me because you knew I couldn't" I said.

Tuvok nodded.

"I accept the consequences of my actions. I expect to lose my commission, and to face a court-martial when we return to Federation Space" he stated.

The captain shook her head.

"You are one of my most valued officers, and you are my friend. It is vital that you understand me here. I need you, but I also need to know that I can count on you. You are my counsel, the one I turn to when I need my moral compass checked" Janeway was now saying.

She found the anger she was trying to keep buried was creeping into her voice, but she didn't yell.

"We have forged this relationship for years, and I depend on it" she said.

With some effort, she was able to speak more softly.

"I realize you made a sacrifice for me but it's not one I would've allowed you to make" she said "Dismissed".

She needed some time to cool off.


	5. Chapter 5

**Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Part 5**

 **M-Class Planet. Delta Quadrant.**

While the _Intrepid_ -class was designed for long-term exploration missions, Voyager had not been supplied for such. It had been on what amounted to a shakedown cruise when it had been diverted to the badlands, and it should have only been gone for a few weeks at the most. As such it didn't have the kind of inventory it really needed, such as a surplus of replacement gel packs and other spare parts. Since energy had to be conserved for the creation of those parts and other items, should they be needed use of the replicators was being rationed.

This was why we were down on an M-class planet that we'd known about thanks to the trades I'd made with the last species of aliens that Janeway had managed to piss off. She really should let me handle all trade agreements and the like. I had the skill set for it thanks to my Jump Chain choices. And unlike her I didn't get all huffy just because other cultures didn't share her high and mighty Federation ideals.

"Gothic" said a gentle voice.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Voyager's second in command, who would have asked me something I was sure if not for the fact that another member of the crew was running towards while trying to get the senior's officers attention.

"Commander!" he shouted out as he reached us "Look at this! I think they're some kind of apple. There are trees filled with them as far as the eye can see, just over that ridge"

Chakotay nodded approvingly, as I scanned the alien apple. Cortana identified it using information we'd acquired about different planets in this part of the galaxy.

Since Neelix was dead his ship had passed on the Kes, since she had been the closet thing Neelix had to next of kin, but she hadn't wanted it. Since it had just been taking up space, and was primitive compared to what else we had, Janeway had decided to return it to the Talaxians, who had a presence in this part of space. I had considered moving my MAKO back into the warehouse and adding Neelix's ship to my bay, but it was more primative than my runabout, and not much bigger.

I had however downloaded its database, and it combined with the information I'd gotten during my trade deals a few weeks back, to give Cortana a lot more information about this part of the multi-verse to work with. It helped that I'd upgraded my omni-tool using Federation tech, thanks to some help, and I'd even added tricorder sensors to the omni-tool so that Cortana could have access to much detailed scans.

"Kaylos," the AI said as she identified the fruit "According to my sources any carbon based life form that eats it will die a horrible painful death. I won't go into details".

The fruit was quickly thrown away, and another crew member soon held out a very strange knobbly brown root for inspection and identification.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Leola root" my AI answered "A great source vitamins and minerals, but it tastes like, a word that doesn't translate. The entry then goes on to advise that you be starving to death before eating it".

The Commander didn't seemed concerned.

"No matter" he told everyone "We've found plenty of food already. Enough to justify bringing down our shuttles as part of a training exercise, and we're hardly at risk of starving".

Coming here had also been the maiden voyage for my runabout, during which we'd figured out how to get out of the Cosmic Warehouse. Hopefully we'd be able to get it back in without any trouble.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS _Voyager_**

"Captain, I don't think we're alone. Mr. Tuvok, run a low-level EM scan for me: co-ordinates 81 mark 40" Tom Paris requested.

As Tuvok began the scan Kathryn Janeway left her seat to stand behind her conn officer.

"What do you see, Mr. Paris?" she asked.

He didn't answer right away, he looked puzzled.

"It's like a reflection" he told the captain "I'm seeing something in low orbit when it moves into a certain angle from the sun".

Janeway couldn't see anything.

"Mr Paris is correct," Tuvok reported "I'm picking up an ionisation trail. There is another ship in orbit".

Now the captain was becoming concerned.

"Is the vessel using some kind of cloaking device?" she wondered.

They'd not encountered any races who used the tech in this part of the galaxy, but that didn't mean they should rule out its use.

"It's not a cloaking device as we know it, Captain. I cannot say for certain what it is, but the ship does employ some kind of technology that makes it hard to detect with our sensors" Tuvok explained "Not an easy feat given how advanced our scanners are, and the difficulty of employing any sort of stealth in space".

Janeway wasn't sure what was going on, but she felt that a friendly ship wouldn't have hidden from Voyager. The people on that vessel might just be curious and cautious, but they could also be hostile.

"Tuvok go to yellow alert" the Captain ordered "I'll contact the landing parties, and tell them to get off that world. No more foraging until we know whose out there".

"Aye captain"

(Line Break)

 **M-Class Planet. Delta Quadrant.**

 _"Voyager to away team"_

Janeway was now calling her second officer.

"Are you detecting any unexpected life signs down there?"

A few of us starting making scans, but all the life signs in the area from alpha quadrant races or just lower level life forms such as a creature much like an Earth worm. Tali was in her human form and as such registered as human. Cameron didn't register as a life form.

"We're picking up an unidentified ship in low orbit. Collect your teams and make for orbit while we investigate"

"Acknowledged. Chakotay out" he said just before he contacted the away teams. "All units, return to the shuttles now. We're leaving".

Ah well. At least I'd get to practice my flying some more.

(Line Break)

 **Quarters. USS Voyager.**

Chakotay was resting fairly comfortably in his quarters, filling out a report about what had happened during his last mission. The shuttles and the landing party had all made it back to Voyager in one peice, but one of the crew had wandered off on their own, forcing the Commander to go find her, which had resulted in a fire fight with a couple of Kazon. Thankfully the alien ship had fled soon after it was discovered.

Suddenly the door to his quarters opened, without him inviting anyone inside, and Seska quickly slipped inside, she was grinning and holding a covered round silver dish. She sat next to Chakotay and set it on the table.

"I wasn't sure I'd make it," she said, and she held out a spoon.

Confused, Chakotay took it.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Well that's a spoon," Seska said as she laughed. "But this—"

She removed the cover with a flourish.

"Is real food!" she then declared.

The ship's second officer was not pleased.

"You looted the food reserves?" the commander demanded to know "Those are locked away for a good reason".

"Well I had some help" Seska admitted.

"Replicator privileges revoked for two days for everyone involved, including me".

Seska frowned a little and shook her head.

"They're not going to obey that order" she warned him.

Maquis didn't have a great respect for authority figures.

"Then I'll personally put them in the brig" Chakotay threatend.

She looked at him incredulously.

"You'd put me in the brig? After all we've been through?!" she said with anger in her voice.

Her face then softened as she tilted her head towards him and she smiled a little.

"The soup is worth losing the replicator privileges for two days. Admit it" she said next.

He pushed his chair away from the table and went to stand by the window, facing away from her.

"That's not the point" he told her.

Seska followed him and coyly snuggled up to him from behind, wrapping her arms sensuously around his chest.

"I get the point," she murmured. "Can we make up now? Who else knows how to make your favorite soup like I do?".

He turned to face her, ignoring her advances.

"No one," he admitted. "But we agreed a long time ago that this wouldn't work."

She rested her head on his chest, one arm snaking up to rub his shoulder.

"Things change, Chakotay" she told him.

The commander pulled her off him.

"You're right, they do. I have different responsibilities now" he said.

She tried to re-emrace him.

"Seska, that's _enough_!" Chakotay shouted as he untangled her and pushed her away.

She looked hurt for a fraction of a second, then she became angry.

"Look around, Chakotay. There aren't that many potential partners on this dhip" she warned as she headed for the door "Of course, if you're not interested, I have had my eye on young Ensign Kim".

The doors swished shut behind her and Chakotay sank onto the couch with a frustrated sigh. It had been years since they'd admitted feelings for each other. They'd had a short trial run of a relationship before calling it quits permanently. Or so he thought. They just weren't compatible as a couple. It caused too many work conflicts and personal arguments. But there was still a part of him that wanted to take her back.

Thankfully he was soon called for so he didn't have to think about her for long.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Voyager.**

When I got to he bridge I saw that a weak, static-laden distress signal video was being played on the main viewer. A Kazon was pleading for aid.

"We require help...immediately...anyone who can hear this message...please help!"

"Scan for the source of the transmission" Janeway ordered.

This was done quickly.

"It is a Kazon ship, its dimensions are identical to the one we encountered at the planet," Tuvok informed his superior officer "It is a Kazon-Nistrim ship, captain".

That wasn't good.

"According the information I've gathered The Kazon-Nistrim are one of the most violent groups of Kazon around" I warned "and the least trustworthy, this could be a trap".

Whatever had happened aboard that ship, assuming it wasn't a trap, had been horrendous by the looks of thing. The captain asked Ensign Kim if he could tell if the damage was genuine or not, and the young man replied that there were fluctuating nucleonic patterns, possibly indicating a reactor breakdown.

When Tom Paris' scans didn't turn up any other Kazon ships in the area, Janeway ordered continuous scans in case there were other vessels about, and then she commanded a new heading that would take us to the distressed vessel.

"We'll act with caution. But if we can help, we should" she said told he crew "Besides, this may be an opportunity to make a friend, and out here we can use all the friends we can get".

Goodness knows we had enough enemies.

(Line Break)

 **Kazon Ship. Delta Quadrant.**

When we beamed aboard the Kazon vessel it became clear that it was not a set. Scans showed high levels of nucleonic radiation, and then we suddenly found ourselves face-to-face with what remained of the crew. There was whole Kazon, he was fused to parts of the ship, he was in the bulkheads, and in one of the computer consoles, all at the same time.

That was the most gruesome example, but not the only one. We located a Kazon seemed to stuck in the floor, his legs must have been sticking out of the celling in the deck below .After some more looking around we found a single survivor and the Commander had him beamed over to Sick Bay.

Before long we also left as nucleonic radiation was deadly to everyone. Even Cameron would be effect if she'd stayed too long. Alas this meant no looting, ah well the Kazon were mostly barbarians with space ships. So I doubted they had much good stuff anyway.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. USS Voyager.**

Chakotay and Tuvok joined Janeway, as the Doctor, and Kes looked over the Kazon's scan. The EMH seemed to be perplexed.

"Incredible! Somehow virtually every cell in his body has been altered" he told everyone.

"Altered? How?" the captain asked.

"Either his blood cells have mutated, or somehow they've been fused with inorganic matter. I can't make heads or tails of it" he answered.

Chakotay had an idea of how this could have happened.

"We found Kazon who were melded with parts of the ship" Chakotay told Janeway and the Doctor "He was luckier than the others".

"That remains to be seen" said the EMH "I'm going to have to give this man a complete transfusion if I'm going to keep him alive. We'd better hope that there are compatible donors on board. I'll let you know the results as soon as we can"

As the three of the stepped into the hallway, Tuvok broke the disturbing news to the captain in his calm, quite way.

"Captain, I have reason to suspect that Federation technology was the source the explosion that caused so much damage to the Kazon crew and their vessel" he told the senior officers.

Janeway was shocked.

"What?!" she said.

"The explosive residue had a .41 trace of a neosorium composite, which is used in some Federation technology" Tuvok explained.

"It looked like they were trying to install some new technology that detonated" Chakotay summerised.

"You're saying they have some kind of Federation weapon on board?" Janeway wondered.

"A console on the Bridge was the source of the explosion" Chakotay answered "We're not sure what its function was and it's going to be hard to get to".

He briefly explained how the levels of nucleonic radiation would interfere with a transporter beam, and that it was lethal to organic beings even after a short time. The only reason Voyager hadn't detected it was because of the hull of the Kazon vessel had made the scans less than conclusive.

"How could they possibly have Federation technology?" Janeway wondered.

The three officers stepped into a turbolift as Tuvok spoke.

"There are only three alternatives that I can discern at this time" he said "One: It is not Federation technology at all but something similar".

The captain ordered, "Bridge," and the turbolift began to move.

"Two: Another Federation starship may have been brought to the Delta Quadrant prior to our arrival and they interacted with the Kazon-Nistrim"

Chakotay wracked his memory but couldn't recall hearing about any other missing ships, and while the Maquis had lost ships in the badlands, wreckage had been found for all of them.

"Were there any other reports of missing Federation star ships?" he asked "Any that disappeared with a trace in the badlands".

"Not to my knowledge" Janeway answered "But it is possible than a Starfleet ship reported destroyed in the same part of space we were taken from was actually scooped up by the Caretaker and never returned for some reason. Starfleet Command didn't know about the Caretaker despite the fact that he'd been taking vessels from all over the galaxy".

Tuvok continued at this point.

"The final possibility is someone from this ship has covertly given technology to the Kazon" he said.

Chakotay saw something like fear and shock flit briefly across the captain's face.

"Computer, halt turbolift" she said before turing to the vulcan "I don't like number three at all, Tuvok".

Nobody here did.

"Nevertheless, it is the most probable explanation" he stated "It may not be a coincidence that the Kazon ship we encountered at the planet was able to deceive our sensors. Perhaps someone transmitted instructions to them before we arrived".

The captain sighed.

"I want you to personally go through the transmission logs, Tuvok. See if there's any evidence of prior contact with the Kazon" she ordered.

She then turned to her second officer.

"Chakotay, who would've had a chance to meet with them while you were on the surface?" she wished to know.

"Any of us, were scattered all over the area" he answered "Only Leiutant-Commander Gothic and I stayed near the shuttles. Because shore leave was cut short I thought it was a good chance for people to strech their legs. There were no dangerous life forms, and the planet isn't in anyone's terrority so I saw no reason to worry".

Tuvok looked at him curiously.

"You did discover Ensign Seska in proximity to them" he reminded.

The Commander didn't like where this was going.

"Seska almost killed me because she thought I was Kazon" he argued "Besides she wouldn't do something like this".

"Nevertheless, I urge you to regard her with caution for the time being" Tuvok urged.

The captain broke in before Chakotay could protest again in defense of Seska.

"Why would anyone on this ship betray us?" she asked the two men "We're all in this together. We need to retrieve that console and get some answers before matters get out of hand".

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. USS Voyager.**

Seska entered Sick Bay and inquired about the Kazon patient.

"Ensign, did you ever come in to leave a blood sample on file?" Kes was soon saying.

She then explained Kazon's blood would need to be completely replaced and that hopefully there were a few compatible donors on board.

"My blood won't help you," she answered, sounding somewhat distracted. "I had a childhood disease that infected it. I was warned never to donate blood for a transfusion".

"All the more reason we should have your blood on file," the Doctor added.

"I will. Right now I have something more important to take care of" she said as she left Sick Bay.

(Line Break)

 **Ready Room. USS Voyager.**

So far Tuvok's investigation was not going well. Because of this the captain had decided to interview memebers of the crew that might be disgruntled becase of the way the ship was being run.

"Have a seat, Mr. Carey," Kathryn Janeway was saying.

Once he had sat down the questioning began.

"How are things going for you in Engineering?" she asked.

"Fine. Why, is there a problem?" he answered.

"Are you getting on all right with Lieutenant Torres?" Janeway asked, ignoring his question.

"I think we've settled our differences" he replied.

Carey was starting to sound as if he was feeling suspicious.

"She was promoted to chief engineer over you, lieutenant. That might be difficult for someone in your position to accept" she said.

"Captain, I accepted your decision. And I've worked as hard as I can to make myself a valuable member of Lieutenant Torres' team. I can't believe she'd have any complaints about my performance" Carey said.

"She doesn't" Janeway assured him.

Now the crewmen was confused.

"Then what am I doing here?" he wished to know.

Tuvok took over inquiry.

"Lieutenant, have you had any contact with the Kazon-Nistrim since we arrived in the Delta Quadrant?" he asked.

Carey was taken completely by surprise upon hearing that.

"What?! You mean me personally? No, of course not!" he answered.

"You were out of contact for almost half an hour on the planet when the landing party encountered the Kazon" Tuvok pointed out.

"You mean, when I was off picking those poison apples?!" he said.

"What about before we arrived at the planet: did you have any reason to signal a Kazon-Nistrim ship?" Janeway asked.

"No!" he yelled "Maybe you should ask Seska".

Janeway frowned.

"Why Seska?" she wondered.

"Everybody knows she was found in a cave with the Kazon," he replied, while trying to fight down a rising panic "Look, I'm not saying she did anything wrong but _I didn't either_."

The captain nodded slowly.

"There's no need to worry" the captain said soothinly "No one is being accused of anything, and you're free to go".

Once he was gone Janeway turned to face Tuvok.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"He has reason to be disgruntled due to being passed over for the postion of Chief Engineer and the opportunity," the Vulcan said matter-of-factly.

"He's also had a distinguished Starfleet career. Were as Seska spent most of the last two years as an enemy of the Federation" Janeway argued "But the same could be said for any of the Maquis, and a few of them were on the planet".

This investigation was getting them no where. Perhaps it was time to bring in a fresh pair of eyes.

(Line Break)

 **Quarters. USS Voyager.**

"So what's the problem?" Miranda asked me.

While Tali was busy my other lover was not as it turned out, as such I'd asked her to come have a word with me.

"Janeway wants to me look into who could be the traitor on board" I told the former Cerberus operative "She thinks that because I'm not Starfleet or Maquis that I'll have a different perspective on the matter".

Also I was a neutral party since I didn't have any real ties to either group outside of this ship. It didn't matter to me that the Maquis and the Federation had been fighting.

"The problem is I know exactly who it is, but I have no idea if I should expose her, or how to" I carried on by saying "Plus I don't want to chance things this early on because then all my knowledge of future events will become more and more useless as time goes by".

Miranda gave it some thought.

"Then don't to anything" she advised "You're not a detective, so do just do your best to make it look lke your investigating".

That did seem to be my only option. Although changing things may not matter in the long run. Since Voyager was moving back towards the alpha quadrant at a faster pace than in the show it was possible we'd arrive in Borg Space before the war with Species 8472. Which would result in their being no alliance and no contact with Seven of Nine. And I'd come here for her. This Jump would prove to be such a disappointment if she didn't end up on my team.

(Line Break)

Sickbay. USS Voyager.

"Doctor, this is First Maje Culluh of the Kazon-Nistrim," she said, while indicating the alien on her immediate right. "Could you give us the latest condition report on your Kazon patient?".

"Well, the good news is that I've been able to stabilize him" the EMH reported "We had to completely replace his blood."

"Replace his blood? With what?" Culluh asked gruffly.

"The blood of volunteers from our crew," Janeway replied. "They saved his life".

Hopefully such an act would be seen in a good light by the Kazon. There was a chance it wouldn't be as some cultures didn't believe in allowing blood donations.

"His own blood cells were killing him. They were changed by the accident on his ship" the EMH explained.

"Changed in what manner?" Culluh demanded to know.

"We haven't been able to determine yet" the hologram answered.

"We've been waiting for the radation levels to drop to a safe level before we began a full investagtion" Janeway was now saying "It should answer a lot of questions."

Culluh now looked somehow even less friendly than before.

"No we will take the damaged vessel to our port for inspection" he decided.

This could not be allowed.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that just yet" Janeway stated.

"And what gives you the right to interfere in our affairs?" Culluh questioned.

"We found evidence that Federation technology was the source of the explosion that so badly damaged your ship" Janeway told the Kazon leader "We have reason to believe that someone on board this ship gave technology to your people. Until we have a better explanation of what occurred, I can't release that ship to you".

Culluh was indignant to say the least

"That is not acceptable" he said.

"It will have to be" Janeway stated.

By this point Culluh looked ready to start snarling.

"Your advanced technology make you brave, captain, but you have only one ship" the kazon leader said "In less than a day there will be four Kazon vessels in this system".

That had at least partly been a threat.

"Perhaps by then we'll have the answers we need" Janeway said.

Culluh scowled.

"You will leave us with him" he demanded, while gestering at the recovering Kazon.

He and his associate stepped closer to the unconscious form. Tuvok observed from a distance as the Captain stepped away to consult quietly with the Doctor. In little more than a whisper, she spoke to him

"I assume they'll want to take him back to their ship" she told the hologram "I'd rather not let them do it just yet in case he regains consciousness. There are a lot of questions he can answer. Can I tell them it's not safe to move him?".

"It would be the truth" the EMH replied.

Before she could respond, a sudden flicker of movement from one of the Kazon men who'd come on board with the Maje caught her attention. Before she could make a move, Culluh's associate plunged a needle on his ring into the neck of the still ill alien. Both she and Tuvok drew their phasers, but it was too late. Meanwhile the Doctor rushed over to his patient.

"He's dead" he announced grimly.

Kathryn Janeway gritted her teeth as she resisted the urge to do something to the two Kazon. Humanity might have evolved in the past few centuries, but that didn't stop her from feeling outrage over what had just happened.

"Get off this ship," she ordered Culluh.

He smirked a little and gave the captain a mocking bow. Soon the two Kazon left, guarded by Tuvok. After they were gone, the Doctor reported what else the diagnostic readouts had to say about the now-dead Kazon.

"There was some kind of nerve toxin in that needle. He died instantly" He told Janeway before he paused, and looked at Kes, before speaking once again "Captain, may we talk in my office?"

Once they were in his office the doctor spoke, but he kept his voice low.

"It's about Seska" he said "Kes was analysing her blood chemistry to try to locate a compatible donor, but when I got the results it turned out tha her blood was not exactly Bajoran. If that wasn't enough I had to order to turn over a sample. She even had a lie prepared about a childhood disease".

Janeway frowned.

"Meaning what exactly?" she asked "Is he only half Bajoran?".

The Doctor frowned.

"The only conclusion I can reach is that she is not in fact Bajoran at all," the Doctor explained. "It appears that Seska has been genetically altered. My suspicion is that she was born as a Cardassian".

(Line Break)

 **Ready Room. USS Voyager.**

Chakotay was still trying to fathom the bombshell Kathryn Janeway had dropped on him.

"You're asking me to believe she's a Cardassian agent who infiltrated the Maquis?!"

 _No, there is no possible way. Not_ Seska" he thought. **  
**

"Starfleet Security has documented several incidents in which Cardassians have used cosmetic and even genetic alterations for the purpose of infiltrating an enemy" Tuvok informed the Commander

Chakotay was not convinced. _  
_

"The Doctor was quite clear" Janeway told her first officer "And he also told me that Seska refused to give him a sample under he ordered her too as chief medical officer".

"I'd like to hear her explanation before we throw her in the brig" the commander said "Has she been told?"

He looked at the captain. Her arms were crossed across her chest, she looked both unnerved and concerned.

"No" Janeway admitted.

"I'd like to be the one who questions her" the commander said.

Janeway considered this.

"First let's find out what we can from the source of the explosion" she decided "It is possible that we aren't dealing with Federation technology at all. And even if we are that doesn't mean Seska betrayed us".

Although it certainly did look as if she had.

(Line Break)

 **Engineering. USS Voyager.**

As it turned out it really was Federation technology.

"We may take replicators for granted but imagine what it would mean to a culture that doesn't have this technology" the captain mused, before turning to Be'lanna Torres for more information "Can you tell if any part of the console came from our ship?"

Indeed it had.

"There's no doubt about it, captain" she said "Voyager uses state of the art gel packs. No other class of Federation ship had them at the time when the Caretakers array was destroyed, and the chances of any other Intrepid classes getting this far out are remote. Most likely somebody on board _Voyager_ gave them the gel pack, and one is missing from storage. Miranda Lawson reported it, but she wouldn't know how to install it given that she's never worked on replicators".

Janeway had dismissed the idea of any of Gothic's group being involved because they wouldn't have the expertise to pull this off, also they'd chosen to come to Voyager, and they had no connections to the Kazon. Plus her gut was telling it was Seska.

"I want a complete report on everything we've found so that I can share it with our Kazon 'friends'" she ordered.

(Line Break)

 **Quarters. USS Voyager.**

While Janeway would regreat this later she not thrown Seska in the brig, instead she'd been confined to quarters. The ship's second officer entered that room and began to talk.

"We found the source of the damage on to the Kazon ship, it was a replicator, constructed with materials from _Voyager_ ," he stated.

Seska sat up from where she'd been lying on the bed.

"You really think I had something to do with this, don't you?" she asked.

She looked betrayed.

"To be honest, I'm not sure any more. I'm not sure of a lot of things" he replied.

"Well, why don't you go talk to your animal guide and figure it all out?" Seska suggested, mockingly.

Nothing was said for a few moments, things were tense.

"Don't I even get the benefit of the doubt" Seksa wished to know "You owe me that much"

"What would you say I owe to a Cardassian who infiltrated my crew?" Chakotay asked back.

"What are you talking about?!" she demanded to know.

"According to your blood work you're not Bajoran" the commander stated.

"It's a side-effect of Orkett's Disease" Seska lied "Ask your Doctor"

The commander sighed.

"He's ruled that out" he said "You are Cardassian, a spy who was sent undercover to join the Maquis and report back".

She had more to say.

"So do you think I got into bed with you to get your Maquis secrets?" she was asking "If you do your wrong because your secrets wouldn't be worth the trouble for a Cardassian agent. I only had one agenda with you Chakotay, and I never kept it secret"

The Commander sighed.

"You're going to have to stay confined" he said "at least until we find out exactly where the replicator components were taken from."

Seska looked annoyed.

"And what will that tell you?" asked.

"There might be evidence of who took them" he said "Which we'll try to find as being Cardassisan doesn't necessarily make you the traitor we were looking for. We needed more evidence".

Seska scowled, on some level she'd known her cover was blown the moment the Kazon ship had been found. She couldn't hide her biology, not from Starfleet medical technology.

"I did it for you!" she yelled, trying to turn things around as best she could "I did it for this crew. We are alone here, at the mercy of any number of hostile aliens because of the incomprehensible decision of a Federation captain, a Federation captain who destroyed our only chance to get home. Federation rules...Federation nobility...Federation compassion?! Do you understand if this had been a Cardassian ship we would be home now? We must begin to forge alliances, and to survive we must have powerful friends. The Kazon-Nistrim were willing to be our protectors in return for some minor technology"

The commander clenched his fists.

"'Minor technology' that could change the balance of power in this quadrant" he said.

"Change it in our favor! That is all that matters at this point" she argued "building a base of power in this Quadrant".

She scowled again.

"I can't imagine how I ever loved you" she said.

She then did something totally unexpected.

"Computer, command XJL!"

She started to beam out.

"Computer, override transport in progress!" Chakotay yelled.

"Unable to comply. Security lockout is in place," the Computer replied.

"Computer, identify destination of the transport," Chakotay demanded to know. _  
_

"A Kazon vessel fourteen kilometres off the port bow," the Computer responded.

The Commander raced for the bridge even as the sounds of Red Alert filled the air.

(Line Break)

 **Ready Room. USS Voyager.**

Seska had escaped. The Kazon had her, and they could only guess at the amount of information she'd shared with them. It was all very troubling

"She clearly arranged this escape well in advance" Tuvok said to his captain "I suspect she did so shortly after we became stranded in the Delta Quadrant, at that time the ship was not fully repaired and many of our normal security measures were not functioning. She also had her training as a Cardassian spy and her experience as a Maquis to guide her".

Janeway wasn't sure what to do. She could go after Seska, but the Kazon had a small fleet nearby. She'd been endangering her ship and her crew just to bring in one criminal. On the other hand she felt that it would be wrong to leave Seska with the Kazon because the information she could supply them could make the Kazon a more dangerous enemy.

"How the Commander?" she asked.

"He is seeking solitude in his quarters" Tuvok asked "I took the liberty of taking him off active duty. I belivie I can perform his tasks, as well as my own, at least in the short term".

It wasn't ideal, but for the time being Chakatoy wouldn't be in the right frame of mind for a while for his important post.

"Very well" Janeway said "Let's get back on course before the Kazon decide to attack. I get the feeling that we will see Seska again, and that she will be a great enemy, but I won't put the crew at risk, not when there's a chance that we can escape Kazon space".

Hopefully they would, and soon, because one ship surrounded by a hostile race was not a state she wanted Voyager to be in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author Note.**

A nice long 7 and a half thousand word chapter to end on.

 **Jump Chain Gothic 3 - Voyager - Part 6**

 **Unnamed Moon. Delta Quadrant.**

I began to examine my surroundings mere moments after being transported down to a system of caves that were within this large moon, which was in orbit of gas giant even larger than Jupiter. We were here because of some massive magnesite deposits. Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres and Ensign Durst were here to check them out while Cameron and I provided an escort.

From the start this whole outing had been needless in my view as my Matter Furnace could provide raw materials. Then someone had explained that Magnesite has a chemical composition of MgCO3, as such it was not an element, rather a compound, and when it is heated it would dissociate into MgO and CO2. The MgO stuff was what they wanted as it has an extremely high melting temperature, and that makes it a good refractory material.

Of course the repicators could make the stuff, but it was worth while to mine in larger quantises and then to process it in small amount on Voyager over time than it was to replicate the amounts needed. Mining it should be simple given Federation tech.

"Voyager we are all set down here" Torres said over the comm

"Have fun on your survey," Janeway replied.

I snorted.

"Yeah fun with scans" I said sarcasticly.

My lack of enthusiasm for this mission did not go unnoticed.

"I am surprised the Captain sent you along given your lack of any expertise outside of being a solider or any scientific interest" B'Elanna commented "And I hardly need an escort for this mission".

That hadn't sounded judgemental in tone, but it still felt like she looked down on me.

"Actually I studied sociology at college" I corrected her "And spent years at an Alliance academy studying a wide range of subjects, or at least I remember doing that, and I'm the greatest expert in Prothean technology in the Mass Effect galaxy".

Tali knew way more about most ME tech than me, but she knew every little about the Protheans, who had surpassed the races of her time. However the Cipher, which contained the knowledge of experience of the Protheans who'd lived on Feros at the time of the Reaper invasion, and perhaps much further back, wasn't something I could access at will. As such she was the real ME tech expert in my group, as well as the best with technology over all.

"You should know that. I told you during my presentation that I'd re-invented a weapon not seen in fifty thousand years, at least in the ME reality" I said as I taped the Phased Particle Rifle, which was a modified Particle Rifle "Its just geology that bores me".

I could simply not find minerals interesting. Although to be fair a lot of things were uninteresting these days. The downside to a somewhat reasonable Janeway was that she didn't stop to look at every thing that popped up on the sensors. As such entire weeks went by when we didn't anything but keep moving at low warp speeds, only stopping to make long range scans if something new turned up.

"Besides this could still be an ambush" I stated.

Torres gave me a look that let me know she thought I was being paranoid.

"Did you forget how Neelix died?" I asked.

Torres considered this.

"Okay I have a some holodeck time coming up" she said "I'll wager it against one of your omni-tools that we don't get attacked on this mission, and you'll bored to tears".

Since I had whole boxes full of omni-tools this bet wouldn't cost me much. Besides I could... well Tali could.. build more.

"Done" I said.

Torres smiled.

"On the off chance that you do win you should take Tali on a date" the hybrid advised "She complains that she doesn't seen you often enough".

That wasn't my fault.

"You put her in charge of the night shift in engineering" I pointed out.

Also she didn't share a room with me, having to bunk up with Miranda. Which alas didn't led up to any kinky girl on girl action, at least as far as I knew.

"You need to make an effort" Torres insisted.

I gave it some thought.

"Magnesite is a crystal right?" I asked.

One of my hobbies I'd gained from that tapestry of life perk involved jewellery making for some reason. Perhaps I could make something nice for Tali. Sure I could just replicate her a necklace or whatever but a handmade one would mean more to her.

"And you said you didn't like geology" Be'lanna Torres quipped.

Before I could reply I heard something. I checked my radar, but there was nothing on it. Which didn't mean much as there were ways to jam such scans or even hide from them. But it would take a race with technology superior to that of most species in this part of space to do that.

"What was that noise?" Ensign Durst questioned.

Durst had just enough time to get his hand on his phaser before a shot from a Vidiian weapon impacted him in the chest. I had no idea if he was alive or not, and now wasn't the time to worry about it. Instead I put up a biotic barrier, which did stop the weapons fire despite them using energy weapons. Biotics for the win.

The aliens kept firing, and when this proved ineffectual the three disfigured aliens switched to the kill setting I guessed. However the second or so required to do was all Cameron needed she gunned down the three aliens, but since she was used a 21st century fire arm it was very loud and messy when compared to the times when energy weapons were used.

"You know…it really pisses me off when I lose a bet" Torres grumbled.

One of the aliens was writhing on the ground, unable to scream due to damage done by my Terminator. Cameron shot him between the eyes.

"Mercy killing" she said

Having served as a solider I understood that. Bullet wounds don't always kill quickly, and they hurt, a lot. I didn't have the time or the desire to find out how the Starfleet officer with us felt about it.

"There are more of them coming" Cameron let us know as she studied her tricorder "They'll be mobilising the rest of their forces".

The mobilization would not do the organ thieves and murderers no good as they weren't facing the pansies of this galaxy. I was a battle hardened Alliance Marine who'd been trained as Spectre by a living legend, and with me was a Terminator, who was a killing machine in the most literal sense.

I pitied the Vidiians, but not enough to spare them.

(Line Break)

 **Sickbay. USS Voyager.**

"So the rest of you didn't get hit like Ensign Durst when the Vidiians initially attacked you?" Janeway asked me.

We were having a debriefing in the ship's infirmary since while there was really nothing wrong with me the Doctor had insisted on making sure of that. I couldn't blame him, if I were the medical officer in charge of my health I'd double checking things too. I'd been in contact with aliens who had a deadly disease, as had the people I'd brought back with me.

"No" I replied "I managed to get up a barrier up pretty quickly, apparently their weapons can't get past my biotic defences. Then the other Vidiians were alerted by the noise of the fight and they came for us. We fought back".

It hadn't been hard. Vidiians were smart, but physical weak, and their weapons, at least when not set on kill couldn't harm Cameron. She wasn't easy to stun and she had no internal organs for them to steal. Compared to me they were slow and had bad aim, and I was slow as well as weak when compared to a Terminator. Cameron had killed most of them in short order.

B'Elanna Torres had been focused on getting Ensign Durst back to the ship. We hadn't know how badly he was injured at the time, which as it turned out wasn't much at all. Still I understood her actions, she'd rather look after a team mate than attack the enemy. She was honourable in her own way.

"You fought back rather well," observed Janeway.

Well I'd had a lot of practice at taking down alien threats.

"We freed the Vidiians' prisoners who had been used to dig out tunnels before having their organs harvested" I reported "Given how advanced the Vidiians are they don't need slave labour so I assume that they just used the work as way of keeping their prisoners too tired to resist their captives. Also when we were freeing their slaves a couple of the Vidiians fired on them rather than let them go free. Cameron and I killed all the Vidiians, we had to in order to safe guard their prisoners".

Because of that I felt no remorse at slaughtering them all. As for the prisoners, there were worlds in this part of the galaxy visited by many races who traded with each other. The freed slaves could make contact with their governments from one of those worlds.

"You killed all of them?" Janeway asked.

She didn't sound horrified or angry, just a little upset at the lose of life. Starfleet types weren't used to wiping out their foes in battle.

"Given the circumstances I did the best I could" was my reply "Our comms were jammed, we were outnumbered in enemy territory, and innocent lives were in danger".

Plus I'd gotten some of their medical tools for study. Nothing to bulky, but it had been the first proper chance to loot I'd gotten in ages. I'd also recovered some weapons, but the rest I'd ignored since it was bulky and the Federation likley had better stuff anyway.

"Yes, well good work Mr Gothic" Janeway praised, having accepted my reasoning "I'm just glad you and the others are alright".

I remembered Durst would die in this episode. But he hadn't in this one. That was a big tick in the plus colum.

"The threats gone" Janeway was now saying "and I have a team down there collecting the magnesite stockpile the Viidians have stored down on the moon. Its more than enough and we'll take anything else of value, no sense letting it all got to waste, if nothing else it should prevent them from easily setting up again on the moon and capturing anyone else who comes looking for some magnesite".

Perhaps my ways were infecting them.

"Now get some rest," the captain instructed.

I could go for a nap.

(Line Break)

 **Cosmic Warehouse. Outside Reality.**

I rubbed my eyes as I put down the modified omni-tool. I'd actually forgotten how many of the damn things I'd constructed and then improved upon. I had my own replicator and fully equipped workshop with plenty of tools so I was capable of building a heck of a lot of things.

Over time I planned to build an omni-tool for every member of the crew, in order to replace the tricorders with something better, but that did mean upgrading the sensors of the omni-tool so that the device had the same scanning power.

The omni-tool was a marvel they were hand-held devices that combine a computer microframe, a sensor analysis pack, and a mini fabricator. It could also serve as a flash-light, an alarm clock, a means of dispensing medi-gel, as a camera, a method of holographic communication, and you could even play video games on it.

By far the most complex part, the fabrication module could rapidly assemble small three-dimensional objects from common, reusable industrial plastics, ceramics, and light alloys. This allowed for field repairs and modifications to most standard items, as well as the reuse of salvaged equipment.

Although melee combat applications for the omni-tool are almost as old as the device itself, the feature was largely unused prior to the Reaper invasion. The need to take on multiple husks in close quarters forced the Alliance to develop ways to enhance the tool's offensive capability.

The most common melee design was the "omni-blade," a disposable silicon-carbide weapon flash-forged by the tool's mini-fabricator. A transparent, nearly diamond-hard blade is created and suspended in a mass effect field safely away from the user's skin. Warning lights illuminate the field so the searing-hot blade only burns what it is intended to: the opponent.

I didn't think these Federation types would go much for the 'omni-blade, but the Maquis lot might like them and it would be good to have people armed with such a weapon for when we faced the Borg.

"Hard at work" someone said.

Turning I saw that Miranda who had entered the warehouse, and indeed we were all hard at work. Cameron was busy modifying ammo for her guns, which were versions of 20th/21st century weapons, but they'd been created with Federation science, meaning the bullets weren't made out of lead and the guns used something a bit more powerful than gunpowder.

Tali meanwhile was working on something that involved the transport technology those hedonists made use of to travel the galaxy. She'd studied what the sensors had recorded from when Voyager had tried to use that tech. It had all gone wrong back then, but she had some theories about the tech making for a decent long range transporter.

"Indeed" I said to Miranda.

The former Cerberus operative leaned in close.

"I've got some holodeck time set up for today" she told me "I was thinking that we could try out an exercise program. Its been a while since I got a proper workout".

The way she was speaking made me think that the kind of work out we'd be getting was the kind that didn't involve clothing.

"Sounds like fun" I said.

I could do with a break.

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Voyager.**

"Captain, I am detecting high levels of iron oxide, rust," Ensign Kim announced.

This was unexpected news.

"Would you mind telling me how iron could rust in space without oxygen?" Janeway questioned.#

Sounded like a question for a chemist really.

"Well it is probably not a natural phenomenon, maybe something rusted before it journeyed into space," Tom Paris suggested.

Although why someone would send rusted metal into space was a mystry. Perhaps one worth solving.

"Alter our course to follow the rust trail," the ships captain instructed.

As the starship followed the trail Harry Kim picked up more unusual readings.

"There are traces of complex hydrocarbons; benzene, ethylene, acetylene," he announced.

"That would be gasoline. It was a liquid fuel used centuries ago, mostly in the 20th century, on Earth back before the internal combustion engine was phased out" Tom Paris told the bridge crew

Something was then brought up on the view screen.

"Well this explains why we are picking up rust and gasoline" the helmsmen then said.

There was truck floating in space. No one other than me had idea why or how it had gotten there, and I wasn't going to tell them. It would ruin the surprise.

"You don't see that every day," Janeway commented.

(Line Break)

 **Cargo Bay. USS Voyager.**

A group of senior officers and i entered the cargo bay where the old rusty truck had been transported.

"This is a 1936 Ford truck," Tom Paris informed us "It was a ground based transport, limited to roads".

Even for me this thing was out of date.

"What does 1936 Ford designate Mr. Paris?" Janeway inquired.

"Ford was the name of the company which designed, manufactured, and sold the vehicle. Henry Ford was the founder of that company. 1936 is the year this car was manufactured," explained the helmsmen as he lifted the old style hood and examined the engine.

I took a peek, but I didn't know cars so I no idea if the engine was working or not. It did in the show, but it really shouldn't since the full should have been frozen when exposed to naked space.

"Was this an early hover car?" Ensign Kim asked.

I sniggered upon hearing that. Anyone with a lick of sense would see the wheels would know it didn't hover. Plus Paris had just said it was limited to roads. And Starfleet officers were suppose to be the best and brightest too.

"No, this was way before the hover car, about a century before" Paris said as he slipped into the driver's seat.

"Don't try to turn it on" I warned the pilot "These cars produced a toxic gas as a byproduct, and we're in an enclosed space".

Be'lanna was scanning the truck, making use of the omni-tool I'd given her. I didn't bother since I was already familar with this technology.

"Traces of potassium nitrate, ammonium, and methane in the back here," B'Elanna observed "Whatever this vechicle was transporting it must have smelt terrible".

"That would be manure. This looks like it was a farming truck," Tom Paris told her.

"How did this truck get here?" Janeway asked.

I didn't think she was really expecting an answer, as such she was pleased when I gave her one.

"My guess would be that this is a case of aliens visiting Earth long before your civilization broke the warp barrier and for some reason displacing a number of people to another planet" I said "The NX-01 Enterprise under Captain Archer discovered one such civilization, and I remember reading somewhere that Kirk's Enterprise found a world with a small population of Native Americans living on it. In this case the humans were most likley abducted sometime after 1936 and transported to the Delta Quadrant".

"Your logic is sound," Tuvok stated.

Although I couldn't stand why anyone would bother transporting humans over such vast distances. Then again the Caretaker had so maybe there were valid reasons and I just couldn't guess them.

"What is this device?" Ensign Kim questioned while pointing to the radio.

I looked at it.

"That's an early AM radio" Paris answered before I could "an amplitude modulating receiver, but I doubt it works, and I can't turn the engine on to find out".

Thankfully their was no need. My omni-tool was a quite capable of wirelessly transmitting energy to nearby devices. It was just one of the tech tricks my upgraded model could do. Soon a signal was picked up and I began to study the readout my omni-tool was now displaying.

"What is that?" Janeway asked.

Again I answered her question.

"That Captain is a radio signal" I said "Its coming from somewhere nearby I would guess due to how clear it is, that and radio transmissions don't go faster than light".

Thankfully no one was stupid to ask me it could from Earth. I might have strangled that person.

"What does that mean?" B'Elanna wanted to know.

Cortana, the AI who lived in my omni-tool, so to speak, began displaying an image of herself onto the hood of the truck.

"This an ancient distress call from Earth called an S.O.S" Cortana said to everyone "I've already got a good idea of where the source is, but I can't get an exact fix. I've already calculated a course change that should take us to the right solar system at least. Once we're closer I'll be able to narrow it down".

"Then let's go find that source," Janeway instructed.

So that was for season one I realised. It hadn't taken even half of year to travel this far. Still I had to wonder: Where had the time gone?

(Line Break)

 **Bridge. USS Voyager.**

Voyager tracked the S.O.S. to the third planet in a nearby star system, a borderline class L world with an atmosphere somewhat like that of Earth but not as ideal for humans. The trinimbic interference, whatever that meant, in the upper atmosphere made it next to impossible to get a decent scan of the surface.

For the same reason the transporters were out. It would be dangerous for a shuttle or even my runabout to enter the atmosphere because the shields on the smaller craft were inadequate to fly through the atmospheric layer generating the weird interference. This also ruled out the MAKO as it would pass through the layer even in a low orbital drop.

"We could land the ship," Janeway mused.

She then sought out the opinions of the senior officers.

"The risk of landing could be worth it if the source of the radio signal is a human colony," the commander said.

"And anyone or anything that could transport that truck from Earth is worth investigating," Tuvok added.

His opinion was unsurprising since he, like the rest of the crew, was looking for a way home and that it might exist on the planet below. It didn't, but I wasn't suppose to know that, and it was also possible that some method did exist here. This wasn't the same time line as the show.

"Mr. Paris, prepare the ship for landing" Janeway ordered.

"Aye, aye Captain" he replied.

That wasn't the end of the discussion.

"Voyager will be vulnerable once we have landed" Tuvok pointed out.

We wouldn't have to worry about attacks from space since the layer of interference, which for some reason didn't effect radio signals, would prevent anyone from detecting the ship, or at the very least prevent them from targetting Voyager from orbit.

"If the shuttles stay really close to the ground we should be able to use them to provide us with cover without too much risk. The turbulence is mostly in the middle to upper atmosphere," Harry Kim pointed out.

"Seems like a good chance to take my MAKO out for a drive" I said "It was built for missions like this, its sturdy, can handle rough terrain, and it has a lot of fire power".

Janeway gave us both a look of approval.

"I like the idea of having extra defences and resources on hand should things take a turn for the worse" the captain said by way of agreement "We'll deploy all our support craft for this mission. Hopefully there's nothing hostile down there, but given our experiences with the Viidiians and the Kazon we best we prepared".

Wow Janeway was acting like a half decent captain. This indeed had to be some wired ass alternate universe.

(Line Break)

 **Unnamed Planet. Delta Quadrant.**

The MAKO came to a hault outside of what seemed to be an airplane that could have flown during World War 2. Which was amazing and confusing since it was the source of the radio transmission, but there was no way it could because even if its transmitter was powerful enough its batteries would have run dry a long time ago. Perhaps someone had enhanced the primitive Earth tech with super alien science. I would soon find out. I should remember from watching the show, but I'd filled my head with so much crap over the years it was hard to keep it all straight.

"That is an old Earth airplane" I said "Don't know the model, but its from the 1930's I'm sure".

"It is nice to see you don't know everything Mr. Gothic" the Captain teased as the group exited the MAKO

Well I knew a lot.

"Its not a military craft" I was now saying as I scanned the plane "Its not a cargo plane either. However it does have space for a large fuel supply. Designed for long haul flights to remote locations if I was any guess".

Like something Indinana Jones would fly in when trying to out race Nazis.

"The distress signal is coming from inside the plane," Ensign Kim told us,unnecessarily, while examining his tricorder.

I took a look inside and my theory about the radio signal having been enhanced by alien tech proved to be right.

"The AM transmitter is hooked up to an alien fusion generator," I reported "And this seems to be some sort of signal booster. Explains why the SOS was so clear even though we were light years away".

In theory a radio signal moved at the speed of light and would just keep going forever. However in reality lots of things interfered with radio signals. And even with the booster Earth was still tens of thousands of light years away.

"Chakotay to Janeway,"

The Commander's voice spoke up from the Captain's com device.

"Go ahead Commander," Janeway replied.

"We have located the power source we picked up just after landing. It appears to be inside of a mine shaft of some sort. I'd like to bring in more people to secure the area".

That power reading had been massive. I knew we'd find people in stasis there, but that wouldn't explain why all that energy was being produced. Perhaps the human cities on this world, which only I knew about out of all the people from Voyager, got their power from that place.

"Make it so Commander. My team and I will be joining you shortly," Janeway announced before closing the connection.

Turning to a crewman, whose named and I didn't know, and Ensign Kim the Captain gave some orders.

"Analyse the alien fusion generator and investigate anything worth knowing about the distress call" she said "I'll send a shuttle to pick up. Meanwhile I'll go with Mr Gothic and his team to met with Chakotay".

Harry Kim smiled.

"Better you than me Ma'am" he said "I'll take a shuttle over riding around in that tank".

Starfleet, what a bunch of softies. The drive hadn't been that bad, and I'd endured way worse when Shepard had been allowed to drive us around.

(Line Break)

 **Unnamed Planet. Delta Quadrant.**

Before long we were exiting my MAKO at the site of the power source. By this point B'Elanna had joined the Commander bringing a security team led by Tuvok, along with Kes. I had Cameron, Miranda and Tali with me.

"There seems to be a massive fusion based power source up ahead," B'Elanna announced "Most of the power is being sent somewhere, but its also powering something else, very close by".

We were shown to another room, and while it was alien in design I knew what it was for because I'd seen such places before.

"This is a stasis chamber" I said.

I'd seen a few in my time. Heck I could build one if I so desired. The Protheans had mastered the technology to the point they could store people away for tens of thousands of years.

"Some sort of cryo-stasis system," B'Elanna informed us as she analysed the readings of her tricorder. "And there are beings inside".

Cryo-stasis meant freezing bodies. A little primitive compared to how the Protheans did it, but it certainly worked.

"I am picking up eight beings Captain," Kes let us know "And they are all human".

Further investigation by the quite surprised away team found that the humans were from the same time period as the airplane and the truck discovered in space. Which made about as much sense as anything else.

"This woman, she's wearing a leather jacket of some kind, and that badge is a pair of gold wings," Janeway announced after rubbing some of the frost off of the front of the stasis unit "I don't think she's military, but she could be the pilot of the aircraft. She has a name tag. It says A. Earhart,"

I'd seen all this on the TV but to actually be here was thrilling. Sometimes being on a Jump Chain was just plan awesome.

"Amelia Earhart" I said "She was quite a role model for women. She was before my time, but still important".

"Why does that name sound familiar?" B'Elanna queried.

"Amelia Earhart was one of the first women to ever fly a plane and the first to cross the Atlantic. Earhart and her navigator vanished when they tried to fly around the world. No wreckage was ever found. One theory at the time was that they were abducted by aliens" Janeway said by way of answer "This was considered absurd by most during that period because this was before life on other planets was confirmed. It looks like those 'crackpots' were right. I am betting that plane we found earlier was Earhart's plane".

This made me wonder who could have taken her. Little green men, maybe?

"Can we wake them up?" Kathryn Janeway.

I had Cortana link up to the nearby computer system. The control system wasn't that advanced. My omni-tool could have handled without an AI's aid.

"They can be brought out of stasis safely" Cortana soon reported "But it will take about half an hour.

"Then please do so," an excited Captain requested.

I looked around.

"Some of you might need hats" I said "We don't want them freaking out when they see alien life for the first time".

(Line break)

"Search them for concealed weapons" I ordered Cameron as the stasis booths opened.

I then turned to Janeway.

"Just being careful" I told her "World War Two started only a few after these people were abducted".

Cameron retrieved a pistol from the inside jacket pocket of a bulky man. Then she took some sort of firearm and a sword from a Japanese man who was in dress uniform. Not long after than the humans from the past started to realise they weren't on Earth any more.

"I know this must seem quite strange," Janeway began by saying.

"Who are you and what is going on?" the man who had possessed the concealed weapon demanded to know.

"I demand you release me immediately," the Japanese officer added.

There was a pause at this point.

"You are all speaking Japanese," the officer realized a moment later.

"It sounds to me like you, sir, are speaking English," the African-American farmer replied.

"You understand each other because of a piece of technology we possess which is called a universal translator," Janeway explained.

That didn't really clear things up for them.

"Who are you people?" a frustrated sounding Amelia Earhart asked.

"Look, just let us go home. We won't tell anybody," the farmer declared,

Maybe he was thinking that he was in some kind of government experiment, or that he'd been kidnapped by criminals.

"The hell we won't," said the bulky man, who was Earhart's navigator if I recalled correctly "I'm going to let the world know what you people have done. I'm an American damn it. I have rights".

Good luck with that. He was in the wrong time and on the wrong side of the galaxy for that.

"Where's my gun!" he then yelled.

"Bloody Americans" I said, not softly enough.

People all turned to look at me.

"You're on an alien world. Light-years from Earth," I told them "The year is 2371. You were put into cryogenic sleep, a coma if you will that doesn't allow you to age. You were abducted by aliens and we just found you here. We're trying to help".

Perhaps I should have sugar coated it better but the navigator guy was just pissing me off.

"I don't know what kind of freaks you are..." the navigator started to say.

Thankfully Earhart stopped him from annoying me enough to get himself shot.

"Do you remember anything that supports the idea that were abducted by aliens?" Janeway asked.

She was clearly trying to regain control of the situation.

"We were over the Pacific low on gas," Earhart replied. "We were looking to set down…,"

She paused then for a moment

"Suddenly a bright light appeared. Our plane stopped dead, just before reversing" she let us all know "That's the last thing I remember. That must have been the aliens. I'd heard stories about pilots on long flights seeing lights flying around their planes, and flying saucers, but nobody ever wants to talk about it because they're worried about being grounded, or locked up".

At least she was reasonable.

"If you want proof just walk out that door and go up the mine shaft to the surface" Janeway suggested "There you will find one if our shuttle craft. We can even take you to our starship if you really needing convincing".

Yeah that would be proof.

"Let's go see" the famous woman said.

Amelia Earhart was now throwing her navigator an intense look which signalled him to hold his tongue. And soon we were all heading for the surface.

(Line Break)

 **Briefing Room. USS Voyager.**

As in the show we'd been attacked by humans upon waking up the people in stasis. Thankfully with a Mako for cover we hadn't been in any danger. We'd taken the humans prisoner, but rather than throw them in the brig the Captain had brought them here for a meeting.

"How did you get here from Earth?" Kathryn Janeway questioned right off the bat.

This was why we were here. To see if we could use the technology that had gotten these humans all the way out here to get home. Of course had it existed then the people who'd been abducted would have used it to get home and their wouldn't be any humans out here.

"You should know this already. The Briare brought us here as slaves. You are working for the Briare" the leader of the locals stated.

Odd that we'd never never heard of the Braire. I'd taken the time to learn what I could from the local races and that species had never been mentioned. Perhaps they weren't native to this part of space. Who knew how long the Caretaker had been taking ships. He could have started with few abductions centuries ago and had increased his efforts drastically as his life came to an end.

"We've never heard of a race called the Braire" the captain said.

Which meant that weren't native to her part of the galaxy either. That made me wonder where they could be and why they'd chosen this planet to bring their human captives too. I doubted I'd ever find out the truth.

"Then why have you taken the 37's?" the leader of the local humans demanded to know.

"Do you mean the 1937's?" Janeway asked back.

"Yes, you went into the shrine and stole the 37's. You also disturbed the radio signal we have carefully been preserving for centuries," accused the leader of the humans native to this world.

Even after Janeway explained that we'd meant no harm there were still more questions to be asked.

"Were these 37's some of the original humans taken from Earth?" Janeway queried.

The lead native sat down. He seemed calmer now.

"We are the descendants of the 37's. They were brought here fifteen generations ago from Earth by the Briare. There were three hundred 37's. Those that were in the shrine are all that are left. We broke free from our enslavement and now there are over one hundred thousand of us".

An impressive population given their limited numbers at the start. I had to wonder if their gene-pool was doing okay. If everyone was descended from a few hundred people that could led to inbreeding problems over time. Then again the humans had been taken from all over the Earth that did suggest a lot of genetic diversity.

"Why would you remove the remaining 37's from the shrine?" we were asked

"So that we could revive them," Chakotay answered.

"But they are dead," the female native among the trio said.

"No they weren't," Kes pointed out. "They were simply in a coma like state we call cryo-stasis".

Clearly they'd not known that. Nor had they bothered to check. Perhaps they had some cultral taboo about messing with the shrine.

"That is amazing," the native female declared. "The 37's are like monuments to our ancestors. Their shrine hasn't even been touched in generations".

Taboo then.

"Mr. Evansville," Janeway spoke up, addressing the native leader. "We were hoping to utilize the Briare ship to get us back to Earth a little faster".

We all sensed the bad news coming before any words were spoken.

"I am sorry Captain. Our ancestors destroyed the Briare ship in the slave revolt," the man called Evansville explained. "But any of your crew who would like to stay here are welcome to. We live in three gorgeous cities approximately fifty miles from here. Perhaps you would care for a tour".

Despite the disappointment the idea of spending time on a human world seemed to appeal to lot of the senior officers.

"We would like that," Kathryn Janeway agreed.

(Line Break)

 **Ready Room. USS Voyager.**

"There are a few things we need to discuss" said the Captain after I had entered what passed for her office "Please take a seat".

I did so.

"First of all any member of the crew who wishes to stay behind and join the humans living on this world are free do so, but I do hope you and you'll friends will stay" Janeway was now saying

Of course we would I'd come here for Seven of Nine, and I wasn't leaving without her.

"Your aid has saved the lives of members of my crew" Janeway went on to say "and I haven't regretted our alliance even for a moment. I want to see where it can led us. And being on Voyager is a chance for you to explore as well".

While I didn't get any joy from scanning nebula and charting star systems, I did have to admit, at least to myself, that meeting new civilizations was an adventure. Plus it gave me chances to make use of my new trader skills. It was nice dealing with people in ways that didn't involve shooting.

"We've shared technology, but I think we have more learn to from each other" Janeway said next "and your team has been working well here on Voyager".

I agreed, and in this spirit of this I handed Janeway a PADD.

"What's this?" she asked.

"Some information I've gathered about the human civilization here" I told the Starfleet officer "About their technology, history, customs and so on. I exchanged some of the information I've gathered for what they were offering, I didn't trade Federation tech, but I did supply them with extensive files on your history since they'd missed on what's been happening on Earth since the 1930's".

When possible I'd trade Mass Effect as I understood it better and not all of it required Element Zero.

"I've ensured, with Miranda's help, that our food stores are full" I then added.

Janeway seemed pleased.

"I found out that the 1936 Ford truck we found belongs to one of he 37's we woke up and its been returned to him" I told the Captain "Also I discovered that the layer of interference above us is actually an odd form of planetary shielding. That's why there's a massive fission power planet. The humans cities here use renewable energy sources".

Janeway looked confused for a few moments before she started figuring things out thanks to the data I had gathered.

"Its not a shield, not really" she said "More like a planet wide jamming field that the Braire set up, it prevents anyone from using transporters, and it messes with sensors enough that you couldn't bombard the cities here from orbit".

Indeed it was a clever technology like nothing I'd seen in the ME galaxy or this one.

"It also explains why radio signals can pass through, it must have been designed to allow for certain types of communcation" I added "As for the Braire, according to the records they were all killed during up an upraising, and there were never very many of them to begin with. Assuming the records are truthful they weren't worth mourning. They enslaved the humans here, treated them cruelly for no real reason, and performed experitments of a very unethical nature".

Janeway moved to look out the window, or view port, or whatever they called them in this galaxy.

"The Doctor mentioned that you spoke with about genetic diversity" the captain said causally "I didn't pry, but he did mention some of the crew giving samples".

I'd played a role in arranging this.

"Since everyone here is a descendant of a few hundred people I figured they'd like to expand their gene-pool a bit" I explained "They're not having any problems with genetics right now, because they have a diverse population, their ancestors come from all over the Earth, but most likely its going to be a few hundred more years before anyone else from Earth gets here. So myself and a few other male members of the crew made a donation of DNA to a local sperm bank".

Janeway smirked.

"I never considered offering that sort of thing in trade, but I can see how it would benfit our cousins out here in the Delta Quadrant" she said.

On the this matter then less spoken or thought about it was the better. At least in my view.

"As for their tech they don't have anything other than the planetary jamming field that interested me" I told the Captain "I traded omni-tool technology for a couple of their energy weapons, but that was more for their benefit than ours".

I had a warehouse to fill and data discs didn't take up much space. Besides I liked having weapons around to display. Plus when the Borg boarded this ship, and at some point I was sure they would I wanted to have extra energy weapon for when they adapted to phasers and possibly even Mass Effect guns.

"The humans here back engineered Braire technology" I was now telling Janeway "Which doesn't seemed as advanced as Federation tech, so I suspect that the Braire never meant to come to this part of space. Perhaps some outside force brought them here, or maybe they found a wormhole that has since closed. I don't think we'll ever know for sure".

Not all mysteries got solved.

"One more thing. I'll be making an announcement later today" the captain was now saying, sounding much seroius "I've decided that anyone who wishes to stay behind can and since Voyager will need a crew of at least a hundred that means if more than a third wish to stay we all must".

This didn't worry me. The Maquis and Starfleet officers got along these days. Had we found this planet as little as a month ago things might be different, but matters had changed.

"Don't worry Captain. You'll make it home" I assured her "And you can count on my group staying right here on this ship until you do".

With that I got up and left. I knew this was world was just a pit stop on the road that was taking Voyager back to Earth.

 **THE END.**

Author Note

I decided that I'll do every season of Voyager as a separate story, but as part of a series, as this will allow me to post complete stories rather than leave one big story undone because I got bored. I can come back to this series of stories as it suits me.

This story is shorter than it could be for several reasons. Mostly its because a lot of season one is either dull, stupid, or both. Holodeck malfunctions and weird space anomaly of the week were done to death during TNG'S run there was no need for more. Also season one was shorter than other seasons.

I ended this story with the 37's because orginally that was how the first season was suppose to end, and it makes more sense if it does end here.

Learning Curve was a terrible episode to end a season on, and wouldn't work in my story because I killed off Neelix right away, so his bio-weapon cheese never existed.

Also there would be a settling in period for the people on the Jump Chain too. Now that's passed they'll be interacting with the crew more and this can led to new adventures in the future.

Anyway I hope this story wasn't a dull read. If you liked this or any of my other stories consider going to my patron page which /gothicjedi666 and donating, even it is just a dollar.

Last of all if you have ideas for stuff I can do for season 2 let me know. Now that the set up and adjustment period is done with I plan for it to be a longer story with more character interaction, action and adventure. I might even up the rating and make it more sexy.


End file.
